The party was very short, and now it's already over. Following the three significant tech IPOs in the US, stock prices swiftly declined, approaching or dropping below the initial offering price. In Germany, pharmaceutical packager Schott Pharma successfully went public. However, defense company Renk pulled the plug at the very last moment, canceling the IPO overnight on Thursday. The final offering price had already been set at the lowest end of the range by the leading investment banks Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and J.P. Morgan at 15 euros. The demand in the order book was oversubscribed, but it was oversubscribed in such a modest manner that both hedge funds and long-only investors like Blackrock would have recognized from the high allocation ratio how weak the demand was. There was a risk of a significant drop in stock prices on the first day of trading. Following that, Triton, the owner of Renk, would have had to wait for an extended period until the stock price reached a level where they would have been willing to sell additional shares.

Renk doesn't really need the IPO to finance its growth. The business with tank gear systems is thriving due to the war in Ukraine. The proceeds would have gone entirely to Triton anyway. So the IPO could be canceled without much damage. But the withdrawal just before the debut says something about the state of the market. Not even a defense supplier with a special boom can compete against the market environment. Amid the sell-off in the bond markets and the correction in the stock markets, any other IPO would have struggled. Not only defense companies like Hensoldt or Rheinmetall are experiencing losses – almost all major European IPOs this year are trading below the offering price.

Therefore, it would come as a surprise if the fuel card provider DKV Mobility was to announce its previously anticipated intention to float on Friday or on Monday. The IPO window is likely to have closed again for the rest of this year. For a brief period, Frankfurt stood out in Europe with the IPOs of Ionos, Thyssenkrupp Nucera, and Schott Pharma. Now, the fleeting moment of happiness has passed once more. Those who haven't made it to the stock market now will prepare for the IPO in the coming year.