Following a very active 2014, global IPO issuance slowed in the first quarter of 2015. Quarterly proceeds were $31.3 billion, down 11.4% year-over-year. Excluding Europe, IPO issuance in all regions dropped significantly year-over-year. IPO proceeds in the 1Q15 were led by the European and Asia Pacific regions, which accounted for 54.4% and 30.9% of quarterly proceeds, respectively. European proceeds were boosted by the listings of large, multi-billion dollar IPOs, including Europe’s eighth largest IPO ever from Spanish airport operator Aena (AENA.SM), which raised $4.8 billion. Issuance in the Asia Pacific markets benefited from the return of China A-share IPOs which raised $4.7 billion but still finished down from last year’s levels as Hong Kong issuance was dampened due to the pending changes to the exchange’s listing guidelines. Due to the stellar performance of these mainland China IPOs, global IPOs generated an exceptional 62% average return. Taking market volatility into account, as long as IPOs continue to generate positive returns we expect global IPO issuance to remain active for the remainder of 2015.
View our 1Q 2015 Global IPO Review 
