A slow start to the 2019 IPO market
In 2018, a total of 93 new listings occurred on the ASX. The number of new listings in 2018 was consistent with the previous five year average of 88 listings. However, the 2018 total was less than the previous year which saw 110 new market entrants.
There was a significant increase in funds raised in 2018, a total of $8.44 billion, an increase of 106% over the total in 2017 when $4.09 billion was raised.
The underlying reason for the increase in amounts raised was a small number of $1 billion+ cap companies listing in 2018, with the three largest IPOs for the year representing 56% of the total funds raised in 2018. These three companies (Viva Energy Group, Coronado Global Resources Inc. and L1 Long Short Fund Limited) raised a total of $4.75 billion between them. There were no similarly sized IPOs in the previous year.
The remaining 90 IPOs in 2018 raised a total of $3.69 billion, with a decrease in average funds raised. The number of new small cap market entrants decreased in 2018.
There were 72 entities with a market cap less than $100 million completing their IPOs during the year, compared to 88 companies in the previous year.
As a proportion of the IPO market, small cap listings represented 77% of the total number of new entrants, continuing the trend of an increasing proportion of the IPO market being made up of smaller cap companies, as was the case in both 2016 and 2017.
This total also remains well above the previous five year average of 50 listings.
IPO Watch Australia, authored by Marcus Ohm, provides a detailed summary of IPO activity within Australia for 2018. Produced annually, it includes analysis on key aspects of the market including:
- Share price performance
- Sector analysis
- IPO subscription rates
- Review of activity by quarter
- Historical analysis
- Resources sector performance
- The road ahead for 2019
This year’s report also features a client case study and articles authored by Brad McVeigh, Simon James and Jude Lau.
Click here to download the Chinese version of the 2019 IPO Watch Report.