In the first month of 2022, eight IPOs raised $1.7 billion, mostly tech and healthcare. Private equity giant TPG headlined the month, followed by semiconductor play Credo Technology; the other six were either biotechs or micro-caps. Market conditions weighed on activity, and a number of companies pulled their deals, with four postponements and six withdrawals during the month. Several others could have launched, but didn’t. Amid a wave of withdrawals, 25 blank check IPOs raised $5.0 billion, a decline from previous months. Volatile trading led to mixed returns, and five of the eight deals (63%) finished above issue, averaging a 5% return. The five $50+ million gained 3% on the first day and another 10% in the aftermarket, for a 14% average return. The IPO Index significantly underperformed broader equity markets. Despite challenging conditions, several filers are hoping to reopen the market in February. 26 companies submitted new IPO filings in January, more than in 9 of the past 10 years, though only one $100+ million deal filed in the second half of the month. 
Renaissance Capital's monthly IPO market updates are normally exclusive to IPO Pro. Read on for an in-depth look at the January IPO market, and sign up for a free trial of IPO Pro for access to our comprehensive IPO calendar, alerts on new IPO content, screening capabilities, and more.
Largest IPOs
January’s five largest IPOs raised $1.7 billion, or 98% of the month’s proceeds. TPG led the group, raising $1.0 billion, and alone accounted for 58% of proceeds. The other non-micro-cap deals included connectivity solutions provider Credo and three biotechs.
Best and Worst Performers
ALS biotech Amylyx Pharmaceuticals was the month’s best performer, finishing up 22%, followed by Credo (+21%) and hypertension biotech CinCor Pharma (+19%). Two of the month’s three micro-cap IPOs finished below issue, joined by early-stage biotech Vigil. While not shown below, the third micro-cap, Japanese retailer Yoshitsu, soared 700% on its first day as the latest small deal to deliver astonishing returns; however, Yoshitsu finished the month with a mere 5% return.
IPO Pipeline
There were 26 new filings in January, compared to the month’s eight pricings, six withdrawals, and four postponements. We expect most IPO candidates will wait for volatility to settle and reassess the market in mid-February, once they’ve prepared 4Q audited results. Even still, recent filers provide some clues into which types of companies could reopen the market. The IPO pipeline currently has 135 companies on file looking to raise a total of nearly $21 billion, including 53 companies in the “active pipeline” that have filed or updated within the last 90 days.
Private Company Watchlist
Renaissance Capital’s Private Company Watchlist (PCW) stands at 234 companies. In January, one of the eight IPOs came from our PCW (13%). We made 10 additions to the PCW.
SPACs
Blank check activity held steady in January as 25 SPACs raised $5.0 billion. The month brought a wave of withdrawals from 1Q21 filers in the wake of poor returns and challenging market conditions. The pace of new merger announcements slowed, with just eight during the month, and merger completions declined to five. Two mergers were terminated, investing app Acorns (Pioneer Merger; PACX) and insurtech startup Kin Insurance (Omnichannel Acquisition; OCA).
Index
The Renaissance IPO Index (IPOUSA), the underlying index for the Renaissance IPO ETF (NYSE Ticker: IPO), fell -19.7% in January, underperforming the S&P 500’s -5.3% monthly return. While still negative for the year, the Index capped off the month with its best day since March 2020, gaining 7.8% in a single day.
