PwC: 2012 IPO Market Surpasses 2011

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Total volume and proceeds raised in the 2012 IPO market increased over 2011, despite the slowdown in activity during the fourth quarter, according to IPO Watch, a quarterly and annual survey of IPOs listed on U.S. stock exchanges by PwC US. Following a strong performance in October, the market pulled back as companies waited for clarity on U.S. fiscal policy, PwC said. For the full year, the IPO market saw 138 companies completing their IPOs as of December 13, 2012, raising total proceeds of $40.7 billion, compared with 134 companies that had completed their IPOs for all of 2011 raising $35.5 billion, according to the survey.

The IPO market began robustly in the fourth quarter, with October IPO volume equaling that of March – both months were the highest of the year with 21 IPOs. IPO proceeds during October reached the second-highest monthly level of the year, after May, which included the Facebook IPO.

According to PwC, despite the pause in IPO pricings during the fourth quarter, the runway for entering the public markets is active as reflected by the considerable number of companies that are filing under the JOBS act. This underlying volume of activity bodes well for the IPO market as we enter 2013.