• Home
  •  
    Regions
    • Europe
    • UK & Ireland
    • DACH
    • Nordic
    • France
    • Southern Europe
    • Benelux
    • CEE
    • Asia
  •  
    Deals
    • Buyouts
    • Venture
    • Exits
    • Refinancings
    • Build-up
    • Turnaround
    • Secondaries
    • Advanced deals search
  •  
    Funds
    • Buyout
    • Venture
    • Mezzanine
    • Debt
    • Funds-of-funds
    • Secondaries
    • Fundraising pipelines
    • Advanced funds search
  •  
    GPs & LPs
    • GP profiles
    • LP profiles
    • GP news
    • LP news
    • Sponsors search
    • LPs search
  •  
    Secondaries
    • Deals
    • Funds
    • News
    • Analysis
  •  
    People
    • People moves
    • Analysis
    • In Profile
    • Q&A
    • Videos
    • Comment
  •  
    Analysis
    • In Profile
    • Fundraising
    • Q&A
    • Comment
    • Videos
    • Podcast
    • Reports
    • Data Snapshots
  •  
    Unquote Data
    • Deals search
    • Exits search
    • Funds search
    • Sponsors search
    • Advisers search
    • LPs search
    • League tables
    • Reports
  • Sign in
  • Sign in
    • You are currently accessing unquote.com via your Enterprise account.

      If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

      If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

      Phone: +44 (0)203 741 1137

      Email: Georgina.Lawson@acuris.com

      • Sign in
     
      • Newsletters
      • Account details
      • Contact support
      • Sign out
     
  • Follow us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
  • Free Trial
  • Subscribe
Unquote
Unquote
  • Home
  • Regions
  • Deals
  • Funds
  • GPs & LPs
  • Secondaries
  • People
  • Analysis
  • Unquote Data
  • You are currently accessing unquote.com via your Enterprise account.

    If you already have an account please use the link below to sign in.

    If you have any problems with your access or would like to request an individual access account please contact our customer service team.

    Phone: +44 (0)203 741 1137

    Email: Georgina.Lawson@acuris.com

    • Sign in
 
    • Newsletters
    • Account details
    • Contact support
    • Sign out
 
Unquote
  • Data Snapshot

PE-backed IPOs on track for best year since 2017

IPOs of PE-backed European assets
  • Greg Gille
  • Greg Gille
  • @unquotenews
  • 21 May 2021
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Google plus  
  • Send to  

The volume of European PE-backed assets going public in 2021 is on track to reach a four-year high, despite recent setbacks for some high-profile listing candidates. Greg Gille reports

Unquote and Mergermarket had recorded 26 private equity portfolio companies listing this year as of 19 May, for a total offering volume approaching €12.7bn. That amount of flotations is therefore already nearing that seen for the whole of 2020 (34 listings), 2019 (34 listings) and 2018 (32 listings).

Should the pace of PE-backed companies going public stay on track for the rest of the year, 2021 could approach a level of IPO activity last seen in the 2014-2017 period, when Mergermarket recorded 72 PE-backed IPOs per year on average.

In any case, 2021 will most likely stand out for the size of its IPOs, with GPs listing a number of multi-billion assets so far.

Auto1, a used car trading platform that has received backing from VCs including Softbank and DN Capital, notably listed with a €7.9bn market cap in February. Permira-backed Dr Martens also listed in London in January with a £3.7bn market cap. More recently, EQT-backed enterprise software business Suse listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with a market cap of more than €5bn.

Most recently, Swedish alternative milk maker Oatly Group - backed by Blackstone, among others - listed in a $10bn New York IPO. The share price surged by more than 30% during initial trading.

The combined offering size of this year's IPOs is already far ahead of 2020's €9.5bn. If more mega-IPOs of European PE-backed businesses take place before year-end, it is possible that the previous record of €23.4bn seen in 2014 could be met, if not exceeded.

Although the UK remains the country with the most buoyant IPO activity (seven listings so far this year), the Nordic region as a whole has also emerged as a hotbed of PE-backed assets hitting the exchanges, as reported by Unquote. So far, the region has been home to eight listings, with most taking place in Sweden. Germany has also seen its fair share of portfolio companies going public, with four IPOs recorded.

Best intentions
While M&A levels are going into overdrive this year – with correspondingly punchy multiple expectations for PE vendors – the pipeline of upcoming confirmed and potential IPOs is also looking strong.

Parts Holding Europe (PHE), a portfolio company of Bain Capital, announced in May that it had filed for an IPO on Euronext Paris. Other names associated with IPO plans in recent weeks have included Lithuanian marketplace Vinted, retail trading platform Interactive Investor, France-based web hosting service OVHCloud and UK-based restaurants chain Yo! Sushi.

Click here to access the latest European IPO Pipeline, which offers a list of IPO-related intelligence covered by Mergermarket over the past month

That said, recent weeks have also seen several planned IPOs going south, highlighting the inherent volatility in the exit route for PE. Car sales platform MeinAuto, a portfolio company of software and services investor Hg, recently postponed its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The IPO had been expected to take place on 12 May 2021. However, the company announced the postponement in a statement issued on 11 May, citing "currently adverse conditions for high-growth companies". MeinAuto was expected to be valued at around €2bn.

Trustly, a Nordic Capital-backed Swedish online banking payments provider that was also a keenly anticipated IPO candidate, announced in early May that it would abandon its plan for a listing in the second quarter, with no timeplan set for when the IPO will take place. The company announced in April that it would seek a listing, with media reports placing the expected valuation at nearly €8bn. The IPO has been shelved so the company can resolve any outstanding questions from a preliminary assessment by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, Trustly reported in its Q1 2021 results.

Despite these setbacks, continued appetite on the public markets for standout PE portfolio companies should lead to IPOs (or at the very least dual-track processes) remaining an attractive option for PE in the coming weeks.

  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Google plus  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • Data Snapshot
  • Exits
  • UK / Ireland
  • France
  • Benelux
  • DACH
  • Nordics
  • Southern Europe
  • CEE
  • IPO
  • Market Insight
  • Unquote Data

More on Data Snapshot

Participation of strategic players in PE exits in Europe
Strategics pull back from PE sales as macro uncertainty bites

Share of trade exits hits lowest point in three years as corporates shore up balance sheets to navigate economic woes

  • Data Snapshot
  • 24 November 2022
PE buyouts in Europe 2020-2022
Private equity buyouts hit lowest point since COVID

Amid macro uncertainty, sponsors see EUR 44.6bn deployed across 211 buyouts, in the lowest mark since Q3 2020

  • Buyouts
  • 12 October 2022
Europe InsurTech PE VC Investment
Sidekick spinoffs: Insurtech scale-ups attract PE interest

Investment set to break EUR 1.1bn mark this year as sponsors seek for rising stars

  • Data Snapshot
  • 03 August 2022
Final closes of European private equity funds between 2017 and 2022 YTD
PE fundraising pipeline offers hope amidst slowdown in H1 2022

Final closes down by almost half so far this year, but a number of "mega-cap" vehicles in coming months could still bolster 2022 fundraising

  • Data Snapshot
  • 13 July 2022

Latest News

French fundraising in euros
  • Funds
21 Invest France eyes EUR 300m Fund VI target by year-end

Fund VI has raised half of its target so far, with the GP seeking to further prove its investment track record throughout 2023

  • 27 January 2023
Palais des Festivals Cannes
  • Industry
IPEM 2023: GPs battle fundraising blues on the Côte d'Azur

Sponsors remain broadly optimistic despite fundraise bottlenecks and a growing number of LPs faced with tough choices on manager selection

  • 27 January 2023
Stock market trackers and financial investment apps
  • Exits
Equistone to exit Acuity in sale to Permira

Sale of financial services research group follows process with early discussions between vendor and bidders

  • 27 January 2023
Closes of debt funds in euros
  • Funds
Clessidra on track for 2023 final close for debut private debt fund

GP has raised EUR 150m for the vehicle against a EUR 250m target, with one third already deployed

  • 27 January 2023
Back to Top
  • About Unquote
  • Advertise
  • Contacts
  • About Acuris
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Group Disclaimer
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

© Merger Market

© Mergermarket Limited, 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1BE - Company registration number 03879547

Digital publisher of the year 2010 & 2013

Digital publisher of the year 2010 & 2013