German armoured vehicle transmission systems manufacturer Renk and French project planning software company Planisware have a lot in common. Both companies pulled their IPOs planned for autumn 2023 at the last minute, because the hoped for prices could not be achieved in unsettled stock markets following the Hamas attack on Israel.

Both have since relaunched their IPOs at the lower end of the originally target range. Renk came to market in February at a fixed price of 15 euros, via a private placement in an accelerated bookbuilding process lasting two days. Since then, the share price has risen by 89%. In mid-April Planisware followed up with its debut in Paris at a fixed price of 16 euros per share. The price jumped 33% at the start of trading. This was partly thanks to the four cornerstone investors, including CDC Tech Premium, a vehicle of the French sovereign wealth fund.

However, the two companies have learned from their experiences in the autumn, and have now shown how to limit market risk in geopolitically turbulent times. They reduced the bookbuilding phase to two days by excluding retail investors – moving away from the otherwise prescribed six days. The French government abolished the requirement for mandatory retail client tranches in IPOs, bringing it into line with Germany. Apparently, the change in the law was partly triggered by Planisware – especially as one of the investors is the sovereign wealth fund Caisse des Dépôts. Paris is clearly very interested in supporting tech companies, and the rule change by the regulator AMF smooths the way for future IPOs. When announcing the change in March, the AMF acknowledged that companies had complained about the requirement, which forced issuers to make offers public for at least six business days, and place 10% with retail investors.