Frankfurt ranks fourth in Europe for IPOs
In the first half of 2024, Deutsche Börse and Frankfurt's financial hub ranked fourth in IPO volume among European exchanges, trailing behind Madrid, Amsterdam, and Zurich. With just two IPOs – Douglas and Renk – totaling 1.4 billion euros, Frankfurt placed ahead of Athens, Paris, and London. This is based on an analysis of 17 European IPOs, each with volumes over 50 million euros, by Börsen-Zeitung.
The biggest global IPO this year was Puig Brands, a family-owned cosmetics company from Barcelona, raising 2.9 billion euros. And there were eight IPO cancellations, including the debut of Italy's luxury sneaker brand Golden Goose, from the Permira private equity portfolio. In Germany, Nordic Capital opted to sell Sunrise Medical to Platinum Equity instead of proceeding with an IPO. Similarly, Flix and Stada shifted from IPO plans to partial or full sales.
IPO market faces summer slowdown
„More than ever, a strong post-IPO stock performance is crucial for successfully establishing oneself in the capital markets“, says Markus Meier, Head of Equity Capital Markets in Germany at Bank of America. „Therefore, current valuations also require discounts compared to peers.“
In August, the European IPO market will temporarily pause due to the mid-year earnings season. But even afterwards, very few IPOs are expected to gain momentum. The second half of the year is likely to be quieter than the first. After a busy June with eight IPOs, bankers are now focusing more on prospects for 2025 rather than the remainder of 2024.
Tendam and Hotelbeds set to go public in Spain
From September, a handful of mid-sized IPOs are expected across Europe. In addition to a possible return of the Golden Goose deal, Spain is preparing for IPOs by fashion retailer Tendam, travel booking company Hotelbeds, and utility provider Coxabengoa. In France, Sanofi Consumer Healthcare is eyeing a market debut.
In Germany the only potentially significant IPO might be Springer Nature. Owned by Stefan Holtzbrinck and BC Partners, Springer Nature has been aiming for a public listing since 2018.
Following the failed IPO attempt in autumn 2020, BC Partners spun off the investment into a separate fund, with Neuberger Berman joining as a co-investor. Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan are in charge of the IPO. Springer Nature could be valued at up to 9 billion euros including debt. Publisher Stefan von Holtzbrinck holds 53% of the shares, with the remainder belonging to the BC Partners fund, whose predecessor vehicle invested in Springer Science in 2013.
None of the planned IPOs are expected to surpass Puig’s as Europe’s largest this year. Globally, Lineage, a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in cold storage, might lead with its ongoing 3.9 billion dollars Nasdaq IPO.
Recently, some German companies have preferred to go public in the US rather than domestically. We explore why there are so few IPOs in Germany and what Deutsche Börse is doing about it in the first part of our series „Trading places: Which exchange will shine in the beauty contest?“
