Unicorns are finally inbound. News broke that Lyft is prepping an IPO filing this coming week, which would put it on track for a late-March listing. Another "decacorn," Pinterest, reportedly filed confidentially for an IPO expected around late June.
Just one company submitted a public initial filing this past week, a Chinese fintech, meaning that mid-March is not looking very active.
Two companies priced offerings this past week, a Reg A+ IPO and a SPAC; neither qualify for inclusion in our IPO stats. The annual February lull continues.
| 2 IPOs During the Week of February 18th, 2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer Business |
Deal Size |
Market Cap at IPO |
Price vs. Midpoint |
First Day Return |
Return at 02/22 |
| Acamar Partners Acquisition (ACAMU) | $300M | $375M | 0% | 0% | +0% |
| Blank check company led by the Executive Chairman of travel retailer Dufry. | |||||
| Soliton (SOLY) | $11M | $375M | 0% | -2.6% | -7.6% |
| Blank check company led by the Executive Chairman of travel retailer Dufry. | |||||
Sign up for a free trial of our premium platform, IPO Pro. Follow us on Twitter (@IPOtweet) and register for our updates on the IPO market.
Soliton (SOLY), a pre-revenue medical device company targeting tattoo removal, raised $11 million in the first Regulation A+ IPO on a major exchange in over a year. The Texas-based company finished the week with a -7.6% loss, but it is still the best-performing Reg A+ IPO on record.
Acamar Acquisition Partners (ACAMU) raised $300 million. The company is led by the Executive Chairman of travel retailing giant Dufry. Year-to-date, seven SPACs have raised $1.4 billion, 29% more proceeds than the year's nine IPOs.
Two companies officially withdrew their IPO filings. Virgin Trains USA (VTUS) had planned to raise $510 million last week but is now exploring other options. Mereo BioPharma (MREO) postponed its US IPO plans in 2018, but the rare disease biotech now plans to list on the Nasdaq by merging with OncoMed.
| 3 Filings During the Week of February 18th, 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer Business |
Deal Size |
Sector | Lead Underwriter |
| 8i Enterprises Acq. (JFKKU) | $50M | SPAC | Chardan |
| Blank check company backed by 8i Capital and targeting a high-growth business in Asia. | |||
| Up Fintech Holding (TIGR) | $150M | Technology | |
| Online brokerage platform focusing on global Chinese investors. | |||
| Insurance Acquisition (ILSUU) | $130M | SPAC | Cantor Fitz. |
| Blank check company backed by Cohen & Company and targeting the insurance industry. | |||
IPO Market Snapshot
The Renaissance IPO Indices are market cap weighted baskets of newly public companies. As of 2/21/19, the Renaissance IPO Index was up 25.1% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 had a gain of 11.0%. Renaissance Capital's IPO ETF (NYSE: IPO) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include VICI Properties (VICI) and Spotify (SPOT). The Renaissance International IPO Index was up 8.4% year-to-date, while the ACWX was up 9.3%. Renaissance Capital’s International IPO ETF (NYSE: IPOS) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include SoftBank and China Tower.
