The US IPO market showed more activity than any other first quarter since 2000 as 64 companies raised $10.6 billion. That is more than double the number of IPOs in the first quarter of 2013, a year that also had the most public offerings in over a decade. IPO deal flow remained strong despite a sharp market sell-off early in the quarter caused by economic stress in emerging markets, European turmoil in Ukraine, and a weak finish as investors worried over the Fed’s plan to continue tapering. Driven by a wave of biotechs, health care companies dominated the calendar this quarter, accounting for nearly half of all IPOs. The technology sector picked up in March as investors embraced companies offering cloud and enterprise software. And with 103 new filings during the quarter, the rest of 2014 is on track to keep up this record pace. While we expect tech and health care to remain active, the IPO market will broaden to include large PE-backed names (Biomet, La Quinta), spinoffs (GE’s Synchrony) and Chinese companies (Weibo, JD.com, Alibaba).
View our 1Q 2014 US IPO Quarterly Review
