IPO value in EU hits lowest since 2009 in third quarter

In the first three quarters of 2024, equity capital raised on European stock exchanges totaled €82.7 billion, marking an 8.4% increase from the €76.3 billion raised during the same period in 2023.

IPO value in EU hits lowest since 2009 in third quarter

This rise was driven by a moderate increase in secondary offerings (+9% YTD) and a significant surge in IPOs (+87% YTD), according to the latest report from the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME). Secondary offerings contributed the most to the total capital raised, with €65.8 billion issued YTD, representing 79.6% of the overall amount raised in the first three quarters. Following a strong first half of the year, IPOs raised €11.7 billion YTD, an 87.2% increase from the same period in 2023. However, IPOs raised only €150 million in Q3 2024, the lowest amount since Q3 2009.

Junior exchanges also see drop in value

Equity issuance on "Junior exchanges" reached €2.9 billion YTD, down 6.5% compared to the first three quarters of 2023. This decline was due to lower IPO activity and secondary offerings. Junior exchanges are markets with lighter listing requirements designed to facilitate capital raising for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as emerging companies. The main market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) led the overall equity issuance, raising €23.2 billion in the first three quarters, followed by Frankfurt Prime (€8.7 billion) and Euronext Paris (€7.9 billion). In the first three quarters of 2024, 63 IPOs were completed on European exchanges, slightly fewer than the 68 IPOs in the same period of 2023. However, the total capital raised in these three quarters (€11.7 billion) represented an 87.2% increase compared to €6.23 billion in the first three quarters of 2023.

No IPOs backed by private equity were completed

No IPOs backed by private equity were completed in Q3 2024, following a strong €6.4 billion raised in the first half of the year. As of Q3 2024, a total of 6,811 companies were listed on European exchanges (EU, UK, and Switzerland), down from 7,487 listed companies in September 2023.