What are the best upcoming IPOs to watch?
It’s been a lacklustre year for IPOs, as economic uncertainty has led many companies to take a ‘wait and see’ approach. However, more activity is predicted for 2023. Discover the Asia, US, Australia, UK and Europe IPO contenders to watch.
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Start trading today. Call +44 (20) 7633 5430, or email sales.en@ig.com to talk about opening a trading account. We’re here 24/5.
Contact us: +44 (20) 7633 5430
Upcoming Asia IPOs
Which pre-IPO Asia companies should you follow?
ByteDance (estimated market cap: $300 billion)
Chinese start-up ByteDance became a household name after launching its famous TikTok app in 2017, which quickly became one of the most popular social media platforms in the world – particularly for the post-‘Facebook generation’ Gen Z.
According to August 2021 reports, the company is addressing regulatory concerns to get ready for its Hong Kong IPO, which was initially expected to happen in early 2022. However, ByteDance put an indefinite hold on plans to list offshore in July 2021 after local regulators raised data security concerns.
In November 2021, a news story cited internal ByteDance documents saying that the company was also restructuring significantly, including creating a new TikTok business unit that may pave the way for an e-commerce TikTok platform.
At its peak, ByteDance’s valuation was estimated at around $425 billion. However, in September 2022 the company opted to delay its IPO plans indefinitely following concerns about a sharp drop in its value. Instead, ByteDance invested in a $3 billion share buy-back programme, which valued the company at approximately $300 billion. Even at this reduced valuation, if the company goes public it would be the biggest IPO of all time.
Learn more about the ByteDance IPO or find out how to trade Asian listings
Ant Group (estimated market cap: $200 billion)
Ant Group is a Chinese online payment company founded by Jack Ma, also the founder of Alibaba. Originally called Alipay and intended to service Alibaba, it was rebranded in 2014 to become a separate entity named Ant Group.
Originally, Ant Group’s IPO was expected to take place on 5 November 2020. However, two days before the listing, the Shanghai Stock Exchange announced that the IPO would be suspended due to regulatory issues. After this announcement, Ant Group suspended the Hong Kong listing itself. The share price for its Hong Kong listing had been set at HK$80, while its Shanghai listed stock was set to start trading at 68.8 yuan.
In November 2021, Ant Group was said to be valued at $191 billion. This figure is significantly less than the 2020 valuation ahead of its IPO-that-wasn’t, which would have made it the largest IPO launch in history, with a market cap of $315 billion. However, some investors have since valued it at just over $200 billion.
One year later, news began emerging that Ant Group was being significantly restructured to make it more compliant with Chinese regulation. While no date for an IPO has yet been announced, this news has given many hope that the company might go public soon – possibly later in 2023.
Learn more about the Ant Group IPO or find out how to trade Asian listings
aCommerce (estimated market cap: $200 million)
Thailand’s aCommerce provides end-to-end ecommerce management services across Southeast Asia. This includes digital marketing solutions, online store development, data and analytics, customer care, fulfilment, and delivery services.
Founded in 2013, it has grown to become one of the largest ecommerce brands in Asia, with backers including American investment house KKR.
aCommerce had originally planned for a listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2022 but opted to delay its IPO due to ‘volatile market conditions driven by macroeconomic uncertainties’. It is believed to have raised over $118 million in pre-IPO funding, from new and existing investors.
In a 2020 interview, chief executive Paul Srivorakul said that the group could raise $200 million with its IPO.
It is expected to go live on the Thai bourse by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Find out how to trade Asian listings like aCommerce
SCG Chemicals (estimated market cap: $3 billion)
SCG Chemicals (SCGC) is a subsidiary of the listed Siam Cement Group, which is more than 100 years old and counts the Thai king as its majority owner.
SCGC has operated across Southeast Asia for the past 40 years and specialises in the production of plastic resins and polymers. More recently, it has invested in clean energy solutions.
In early 2022, SCGC won approval for a planned IPO by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with a public launch set for some time in 2023. The company said it is aiming to raise at least $2 billion through the listing, with some estimates closer to $3 billion. If true, this would make it the largest IPO in Thai history.
Hua Hong Semiconductor ($2.5 billion)
China’s second largest chip maker Hua Hong Semiconductor received permission to launch its IPO in November 2022. It intends to list on China’s STAR market – also known as the Shanghai Stock Exchange Science and Technology Innovation Board.
With a reported valuation of 18 billion yuan, or $2.5 billion, this would make it the STAR market’s largest ever IPO.
Hua Hong makes most of its money by making chips using 55-nanometer process technology. It intends to use the money raised from its IPO to invest in a new fabrication plant as well as upgrading its four existing plants.
Find out how to trade Asian listings like Hua Hong Semiconductor
Upcoming US IPOs
The American IPO space, particularly its tech stocks, shows no sign of slowing down in 2023. Are these the best upcoming US IPOs?
Stripe (estimated market cap: $74 billion)
Established by the Collison brothers in 2010, Stripe is a fintech company that develops economic infrastructure to facilitate digital payments and other financial business management processes. Stripe enables millions of companies to start, run and scale their businesses in over 120 countries.
In March 2021, Stripe was valued at $95 billion after a $600 million fundraising round. However, the company’s value has since been revised downwards to $74 billion.
In mid-2021, the company was said to be considering a direct listing, and reportedly appointed a legal firm to assist in its listing preparations.
Since then, there has been plenty of speculation that the company is ready to go public. The sheer size and scope of this fintech means it is certainly a potential IPO to watch.
Learn more about the Stripe listing or find out how to trade US IPOs with us
Shein (estimated market cap: $64 billion)
Chinese fast-fashion group Shein are reported to be considering an IPO as soon as 2023, whilst projecting growing revenues to reach $58.5 billion by 2025.
With the likes of private-equity firm General Atlantic joining previous investors Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital China in their latest funding round that was completed in April 2022, the affordable fashion label which has built a strong Gen-Z following looks likely to pursue an IPO in late 2023.
Initial rumours seem to point towards ambitions for a US listing and if the purported valuations are achieved at IPO, it would make Shein one of the 10 largest fashion companies in the world by market cap.
TikTok Global (estimated market cap: $50 billion)
A TikTok IPO is an exciting prospect for many and has been for a while – the international arm of the social media phenomenon had been rumoured to be pursuing an IPO for new company TikTok Global as early as mid-2020.
TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which postponed plans of its own to list offshore in July 2021, after Chinese regulators raised data security concerns. August 2021 reports then stated that the parent company was addressing regulatory concerns to get ready for its IPO – a Hong Kong listing – which was expected to happen in 2022.
Under the Trump administration, TikTok Global seemed as though it would need to find American buyers in 2020. The mega-successful app was valued somewhere between $50 billion and $60 billion when blue-chip companies Oracle and Walmart expressed interest. However, the sale of TikTok Global fell through when US President Biden changed the data privacy regulations Trump had put in place.
There are no official dates yet for TikTok Global’s IPO, but it’s thought that the company will list in the US and will complete another round of funding before doing so, while still leaving ByteDance with a majority stake in the company.
Learn more about the TikTok Global IPO or find out how to trade US listings
Chime (estimated market cap: $40 billion)
Even though it provides banking services, Chime is technically a fintech company, not a bank. The products it provides are offered through its banking partners. In its nine years of operations, it’s garnered millions of customers in middle- and lower-income Americans.
Initially, Chime aimed for a March 2022 IPO with a valuation of between $35 billion and $45 billion. But prior to this date, it announced its intention to put a public offering on hold and instead focus on developing new services, such as lending and investing features.
In August 2021, Chime raised $1.1 billion in venture capital at a $25 billion valuation. Then in January 2022, the fintech announced that it had hired Goldman Sachs to help it prepare for a public listing that would value Chime at $40 billion.
Find out how to trade US listings like Chime
Databricks (estimated market cap: $31 billion)
Databricks is a software business that pioneered a cloud-based data storage platform using machine learning, among other things, to address the growing demand for keeping and organising companies’ online information.
Founded in 2013, the San Francisco company quickly gained attention for its machine-learning and AI capabilities. Later that same year, the company had secured $13.9 million in funding. Within the next few years, it went on to collect an esteemed list of investors, including Microsoft, Google’s CapitalG and Amazon Web Services.
In January 2021, the company raised $1 billion in funding – a move which valued it at $28 billion. Just months later, on 31 August 2021, it announced it had secured another $1.6 billion in funding from investors, valuing the company at an impressive $38 billion.
However, in October 2022 Databricks lowered its valuation to $31 billion following an internal assessment. Interest in Databricks going public is rife, but no firm plans for an IPO have been announced yet and no date has been set.
Starlink (estimated market cap: $30 billion)
Starlink is a satellite network aimed at providing global internet access at very high speeds. Rumours surrounding a Starlink IPO surfaced in 2019 after SpaceX – its parent company – hinted at plans for a listing in the future.
Elon Musk confirmed this in February 2021, saying that a decision will be made once cashflow can be predicted for the business. Adding to this in a June 2021 tweet, Musk said that it may take a few years for Starlink’s revenue to become fairly predictable.
Forbes magazine estimated that Starlink’s valuation would reach about $30 billion by 2025. A private market valuation estimation in January 2021 put SpaceX’s value at about $74 billion, with much of this attributed to Starlink’s satellites.
If there’s a Starlink IPO, the valuation will depend on market conditions at the time of the listing and the performance of SpaceX. Elon Musk has hinted that Tesla shareholders may get priority in stock allocations once Starlink goes public. For now, there are no prospective dates for Starlink going public. Still, it’s expected that the company may go public in 2023 or 2024.
Discord (estimated market cap: $15 billion)
San Francisco’s Discord describes itself as a ‘voice over internet protocol company’. More simply put, it’s an online platform that seeks to connect users with similar interests, as well as friends and family, into groups and communities.
It was valued at $15 billion after raising a $500 million in funding in September 2021. This is a jump of more than double what the company was worth previously, when it was valued at $7.3 billion after its previous funding round.
However, it’s thought that the company’s valuation will be even higher than $15 billion once it goes public. As of yet, there’s no set date for Discord’s IPO listing, but the company may still look to IPO in the coming years if market conditions improve.
Find out how to trade US listings like Discord
Reddit (estimated market cap: $15 billion)
America’s Reddit is one of the most famous social media platforms, with millions of members around the globe. Founded in 2005, it gained a new relevance for the finance world in late 2020 and January 2021, when a subreddit named ‘wallstreetbets’ took on the whales of Wall Street over shorted stock Gamestop.
Now, it seems, Reddit will join in on the stock game. In September 2021, it was announced that Reddit was hiring IPO advisers, reportedly Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, ahead of preparations for its listing. Just three months later, it confidentially submitted a draft registration with the SEC.
Despite this, no firm date for the IPO has been announced, however rumours early in 2023 seem to indicate a revival of the plans, with an IPO potentially on the cards towards the end of the year. The latest rumours do also point to a lower valuation than the $15 billion the company was said to be targeting last year; in August 2021, it was valued at $10 billion.
Blockchain.com (estimated market value: $14 billion)
London-based crypto-trading platform Blockchain.com is rumoured to be planning a US IPO at some point in 2023. In April 2022, it was reported that Blockchain.com had begun interviewing banks ahead of the potential US IPO and could finalise the deal by the end of the year.
In March 2022, a private funding round valued Blockchain.com at $14 billion. But just six months later – amid economic instability and growing regulation – another funding round was said to have slashed the company’s value to just $3 billion. It is not yet known how this shrunken valuation will impact the company’s IPO plans.
Find out how to trade US listings like Blockchain.com
Plaid (estimated market cap: $13 billion)
Another innovator in the fintech space, Plaid enables people to connect their bank accounts with other apps, making it easier for clients to make quick, online transfers and payments. Like many upcoming IPOs, its value skyrocketed during the pandemic as people needed to find new ways to bank that didn’t involve leaving their homes.
In September 2021, the company’s most recent round of funding took place, with JPMorgan Chase and American Express offering an undisclosed amount. In April of the same year, a round of funding totalling $425 million brought Plaid’s valuation to $13 billion.
As a leader in the open banking model, it’s almost inevitable that Plaid will go public – it’s just a matter of when. Rumours abound that it may do so through a SPAC, but it’s all speculation at this point.
Find out how to trade US listings like Plaid
Instacart (estimated market cap: $14.2 billion)
Instacart is a grocery delivery service, founded in 2012, that has been mulling a public listing for approximately two years.
One of Instacart’s biggest partners, Whole Foods, was acquired by Amazon a few years ago, which made some wary of the business’s future. However, Instacart has grown to service 15,000 stores across 400 locations in the US and Canada.
After widespread speculation that the company would go public by the end of 2021, Instacart later stated that it was postponing those plans in order to focus on growing the business. The news was accompanied by the announcement that the company had hired Fidji Simo of Facebook (now Meta) as its new CEO.
In March 2021, after raising $265 million in venture capital funds, the company’s market cap soared to $39 billion – meaning its valuation had more than doubled from its 2020 market cap of $17.7 billion. But early in 2022, the company proactively reduced its valuation to $24 billion and through the course of 2022, two further internal revaluations slashed the company’s value to $10 billion.
Learn more about the Instacart IPO or find out how to trade US IPOs
Impossible Foods (estimated market cap: $7 billion)
Impossible Foods specialises in creating innovative plant-based alternatives to meat products. Founded in 2011, the Silicon Valley company has received considerable interest, and counts Bill Gates and Jay-Z among its shareholders.
There were rumours during 2021 that the company was looking to go public within the next year, and that it may be valued at $10 billion when it did so. Further media speculation in November of the same year stated that the company is looking to raise $500 million in another round of funding, which could value the company at $7 billion.
However, these haven’t been confirmed. Instead, Impossible Foods’ CEO said in November 2021 that the company has eventual plans to list publicly but have no firm dates in mind.
Learn how to trade US listings like Impossible Food
Graphcore (estimated market cap: $2.8 billion)
Graphcore, a UK semiconductor start-up that designs and manufactures machine learning and artificial intelligence software accelerators, is said to be looking to list on the Nasdaq. Founded in 2016, it reached unicorn status in 2018.
The company has raised around $700 million and has an estimated valuation of $2.8 billion. Graphcore’s international operations are supported by offices in locations including London, Munich, Paris, New York, Tokyo and Seoul. The company has around 650 employees.
Graphcore was reportedly looking to go public in 2022 but saw out the year without any further announcements on a timeline for a future IPO.
Upcoming Australian IPOs
Which companies are mulling a listing on the Australian Securities Exchange?
Virgin Australia (estimated market cap: unknown)
Virgin Australia is heavily rumoured to be preparing for an IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in 2023, in what would be its second market float. The company initially joined the ASX as Virgin Blue Holdings in 2003, before being delisted on 17 November 2020.
The Australian business of the global Virgin travel brand has had a rollercoaster few years. Like most airline companies, it was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and filed for voluntary administration in April 2020. A couple of months later, the firm was bought out of administration by the private equity firm Bain Capital, in a deal worth $572.7 million.
Just two years later, buoyed by rising passenger numbers, and the promise of a return to profitability by mid-2023, Virgin Australia is openly discussing a return to the ASX. Chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka has been on a cost-cutting mission in recent years, which has helped bolster the company’s balance sheet.
In the 12 months ending 30 June 2022, Virgin Australia increased its revenue by 45% to $2.2 billion, but losses widened from $76.8 million in 2021 to $386.7 million the following year. Any upcoming IPO plans would therefore have to be bolstered by Bain’s long-term backing.
Find out how to trade Australian listings like Virgin Australia
PZE Limited (estimated market cap: unknown)
PZE Limited is an Australia-based gas company which also partners with energy companies to decarbonise their emissions. The company – whose name stands for Prioritising netZero Emissions – operates in the Surat Basin in Queensland, where it owns a gas and oil field and a carbon capture and storage business.
In 2022, PZE began an appraisal and resource assessment process of its Waldegrave gas project, and by Q3 2022, it was reportedly in talks to raise $7.5 million in pre-IPO funding, with plans to list on the ASX in Q4 2022 or Q1 2023.
Revolut (estimated market cap: $33 billion)
Revolut, the app-based bank headquartered in the UK with more than 15 million registered users, was founded in 2015 and has been a UK-regulated electronic money institution since 2016.
Its primary market is the UK, and a public listing is most likely to be on the LSE; however, the finance company continues to expand its US operations, having grown the leadership team there in March 2022, so there’s a possibility it may go public in the US.
CEO and co-founder Nikolay Storonsky indicated in late 2021 that the business would need to see a few billion dollars in annual revenue before going public. However, fundraising efforts in July 2021 garnered $800 million and set its estimated market cap at around $33 billion (£25.3 billion).
Arm Holdings (estimated market cap: $23.95 billion)
Arm Holdings designs microprocessors and related technology and software found in around 95% of smartphones. It has approximately 6000 employees globally and 2800 in the UK.
Arm’s holding company SoftBank announced a deal for Nvidia to acquire Arm in 2020, leading to an estimated $40 billion valuation. In early 2022, however, the deal fell through, with Nvidia and Arm both citing regulatory challenges as the primary reason. Since then, market turmoil has caused Arm’s estimated cap to drop to around $23.95 billion.
While often referred to as ‘the jewel in the crown’ of British technology, it’s unclear at this point where Arm will go public. In early 2022, Masayoshi Son, the CEO of SoftBank said that ‘the US is the market that we’re looking at for the listing of ARM,’ suggesting that Nasdaq – not the LSE – will be the company’s market of choice.
Son added that the IPO will be one of the biggest ever in the tech world. However, more than a few months on, the IPO continues to be on hold. A dual listing could be on the cards and has been making its rounds on the rumour mill, too.
EG Group (estimated market cap: $15 billion)
A blockbuster IPO is on the cards for British retailer EG Group. The company has over 6300 petrol stations and convenience stores in the UK, continental Europe, the US and Australia.
In 2021, the firm’s revenue reached $26.5 billion, and by the halfway point of 2022, EG Group had recorded EBITDA of $381 million and a turnover of $8.9 billion for the same period.
With acquisitions that include 52 KFC sites in the UK, supermarket chain Asda and restaurant chain Leon, many investors are keeping a close eye on EG Group’s potential listing. However, the billionaire brother owners, Mohsin and Zuber Issa, have been infuriatingly vague about their plans for a public listing, most recently stating that at ‘an IPO for EG Group is one of a number of strategic options for the business being considered.’
Find out how to trade UK listings like EG Group
Monzo (estimated market cap: £4.5 billion)
Monzo is an online bank with more than six million customers, of which around 430,000 are on paid account tiers. The company is one of the leading UK innovators offering a non-traditional option to banking.
Alongside its upcoming IPO, Monzo is also focusing on US expansion plans, having already appointed CEO Carol Nelson for its US operations.
In December 2021, the company confirmed that its valuation was estimated to be about $4.5 billion – this came after securing an additional $500 million in its latest funding round.
BrewDog (estimated market cap: over £2 billion)
BrewDog, started as a small operation in Scotland. The company’s crowdfunding route, which proved vital in its early years, secured about 200,000 investors.
In June 2021, an open letter with allegations of a toxic work culture within the company was published by several former employees. BrewDog’s co-founder and CEO James Watt issued an apology, but until recently, it was unclear how the allegations would affect the company’s plans to go public.
In more recent news, the company restated their plans to go public in the future after delaying previous IPO plans due to effects of Covid on the hospitality sector and wider market confidence. Chief Executive James Watt has indicated Brewdog will look to release a timeline for a public offering by the end of 2023.
The business’s value is estimated to be over £2 billion as of their most recent funding round.
Find out how to trade UK listings like BrewDog
Jaguar Land Rover (estimated market cap: £2 billion)
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is part of India’s Tata Motors, which is already listed in India and New York.
Optimism surrounding JLR’s IPO has dwindled because of declining diesel sales, a drop in Chinese demand and – more recently – the coronavirus crisis.
These headwinds have led to flat retail sales in the first quarter of 2022, versus the fourth quarter of 2021. Q1 losses tipped to £542 million, around half of which was due to unfavourable FX and commodity revaluation year on year.
However, despite these supply-chain and macroeconomic challenges, demand is reportedly still high for JLR vehicles – by July 2022 the company was said to have around 200,000 outstanding orders.
Find out how to trade UK listings like Jaguar Land Rover
Starling (estimated market cap: £1.5 billion)
Starling is one of the UK’s leading digital-only banks. It was founded in 2014 by Anne Boden, a former banking executive. Boden, who is also the CEO of Starling, is hoping to list the company in London.
In an early 2021 fundraising round, Starling raised £272 million. The company then announced that it got a £50 million extension on this funding round, an investment from Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, increasing the total to £322 million. At this point, the company’s market cap was estimated at £1.4 billion.
This valuation jumped to £2.5 billion by April 2022, but market turmoil helped to bring the challenger bank back down to earth. In September 2022, one of the bank’s major shareholders – Jupiter – agreed to sell its £100 million stake in the firm, in a move which revalued Starling at £1.5 billion.
With over two million current accounts, the company isn’t only planning to expand its products and services, it’s also looking to broaden its offerings into Europe. Boden has also spoken about her desire to acquire fintech companies to help strengthen the bank’s core offerings.
In November 2021, it was reported that Anne Boden said she expects the Starling Bank IPO to happen in a year or two.
Find out how to trade UK listings like Starling
Huel (estimated market cap: £1 billion)
Huel specialises in nutritionally complete, plant-based meal replacements in the form of powders, drinks, snacks and more. The company has grown into the international arena, including locations in continental Europe, the US and Japan.
Huel has an impressive social media presence, which is probably one of the things that keeps it in tune with its younger consumers that are focussed on fitness.
The company is said to have appointed Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan as its advisers for a possible future London IPO. It’s been reported that the investment banks are also advising on a possible sale of Huel, although an IPO is the preferable option.
The meal replacement company reported that it had done £103 million in sales in the year ending July 2021 – up from £72 million the previous year.
Find out how to trade UK listings like Huel
Snowfox Group (estimated market cap: £750 million)
Snowfox Group is a multinational Japanese food business that serves customers in the UK, US and Canada. In the UK, it is perhaps best known as the parent company of YO! Sushi.
Its operations include running restaurants and supplying sushi as well as other Japanese food to retailers such as Asda, Walmart, Kroger, Sam’s Club and Tesco. Snowfox Group sells over 60 million trays of sushi a year and employs over 3000 people worldwide.
The company’s majority shareholder, Mayfair Equity Partners, were reportedly looking into a 2022 LSE IPO, but this was likely delayed due to ongoing market conditions.
The company posted record sales in 2021, increasing its sales by 47% year-on-year. Group adjusted EBITDA doubled to £34.4 million.
Find out how to trade UK IPOs like Snowfox Group
McLaren Group (estimated market cap: £560 million)
McLaren Group, the British Formula One firm and sports carmaker, has been linked to an IPO since 2011 when its executive chairman stated that it might happen within five years.
There were some reports that the company might go public through a reverse takeover in 2021. Then with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called McLaren Technology Acquisition listing on the Nasdaq Global Market in November 2021, there was renewed interest in the McLaren Group listing.
A SPAC is a company with no commercial operations that has been specifically set up to facilitate the transition for a private firm to go public through a merger – this method of listing has been gaining popularity as an alternative to a traditional IPO.
The company was valued at £560 million in December 2020 after a round of funding from a group led by MSP Sports Capital, which is said to have obtained a significant minority stake of the company. In July 2021, McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed that the company raised £550 million – Ares Management and PIF, a Saudi Arabian state fund, were the majority investors.
It should be noted that the environment for carmakers has been very volatile in recent years, with Brexit impacting supply chains and the trade war raising the cost of doing business.
Find out how to trade UK listings like McLaren Group
Zopa (estimated market cap: £750 million)
Zopa has been credited with inventing the concept of peer-to-peer lending with its launch in 2004. It went on to grow a multi-billion-pound consumer lending business, before opting to exit the market in December 2021 to focus on its digital banking business.
Zopa Bank accumulated £1 billion in deposits within 18 months of its launch, helping Zopa to reach profitability for the first time in April 2022.
Zopa has made no secret of its plans for a public listing. In October 2021, the firm raised £220 million in a funding round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. The funding round valued Zopa at £750 million. The company has since said that it wants to raise another $100 million before launching its IPO.
Find out how to trade UK listings like Zopa
Virgin Atlantic (estimated market cap: unknown)
Virgin Atlantic, a subsidiary of Virgin Group, had its first flights taking off in 1984. It quickly became one of the leading airlines in the UK, but the company, like the entire airline industry, was hit hard by the effects of Covid-19. This led to Virgin Atlantic filing for bankruptcy.
As economies are recovering and the demand for international travel is increasing, the company had its sights set on a 2021 London Stock Exchange (LSE) IPO. However, the company is said to have delayed its listing plans to focus on the reopening of the transatlantic market.
Covid-19 continued to plague the airline in 2021, with its latest financial report showing a loss of £594 million before tax and exceptional items – however the company now expects to turn a profit in 2023.
Find out how to trade UK listings like Virgin Atlantic
Upcoming European IPOs
Which of these could be the best European IPOs to follow?
Klarna (estimated market cap: $7 billion)
Swedish fintech Klarna is a world leader in the ‘buy now pay later’ financing space, processing millions of transactions around the world each day. Founded in Stockholm in 2005, the company is a firm favourite in online financing internationally.
In the latter half of 2021, Klarna completed a round of funding which valued it at $45.6 billion, potentially giving it one of the largest fintech market caps in the world.
However, the threat of regulation and a consumer credit crisis saw Klarna’s value plummet in 2022. A July 2022 fundraising round saw its value slashed by 85% to just $7 billion. Despite this, the company’s fundamentals remain strong, with more than 150 million users, and a 200% year-on-year increase in its marketing services revenue.
An IPO hasn’t been ruled out and may yet happen in 2023. No location for the IPO’s listing has yet been announced.
Find out how to trade international listings like Klarna
Rimac Automobili (estimated market cap: $2.2 billion)
Rimac Automobili is a Croatian car and component manufacturer that specialises in hypercars. The company uses and builds cutting-edge technology to ensure a high-performance and advanced finished product.
Mate Rimac, who founded the company in 2009, has said that although the company started with ‘hypercars’, it’s now also working with more mainstream vehicles.
Speculation in the media at the time predicted a 2022 date for the car company’s listing, as well as a target valuation of just over $6 billion, but neither of these were confirmed by the company.
Then, in November 2021, it was announced that Rimac Automobili, in a joint venture with Volkswagen’s Porsche, would be acquiring sportscar stalwart Bugatti.
In June 2022, Rimac raised $536 million in a funding round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Goldman Sachs, in a deal that gave the company a new valuation of $2.2 billion. The company’s CEO Mate Rimac said that he would like to see sales volumes double before embarking on an IPO.
Find out how to trade international listings like Rimac Automobili
Trustly (estimated market cap: unknown)
Trustly is a Swedish e-commerce and payments platform. Founded in 2008, the fintech company facilitates cardless, app-less online payments and counts Facebook, PayPal, Alibaba, Wise and eBay among its users.
At the start of 2021, the company announced that it would be going public within the next quarter, with an IPO that was said, at the time, to mean a valuation of as much as $11 billion.
Trustly was all set to make its public debut in the first half of 2021. Then, in May, the company said that it was postponing its listing indefinitely after the Swedish regulator questioned their due diligence process and regulatory compliance.
Nevertheless, Trustly has stated that it’s still aiming for an IPO launch at some point, although no official date or timeline has been set. Although not confirmed, it’s thought that the payments platform will be listed on the Stockholm exchange in Sweden.
Porsche (estimated market cap: €75 billion)
Porsche, owned by Volkswagen, is one of the most well-known luxury car brands in the world.
In early 2022, Volkswagen announced it would be assessing the feasibility of a Porsche IPO, and speculators were saying this could have taken place in the last quarter of the year.
Analysts had placed Porsche’s estimated market cap at around €90 billion if it went public. However, the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a Europe-wide cost of living crisis meant that when the company finally went public on 29 September 2022, it came with a much lower valuation of €75 billion.
Learn more about the Porsche IPO or find out how to trade international listings
Mobileye (market cap: $22.74 billion)
Mobileye is an Israeli self-driving car company which was acquired by US tech titan Intel Corp in 2017, to become Intel’s self-driving division.
In March 2022, Intel quietly and confidentially filed with the SEC, despite announcing on 7 December 2021 its plans to publicly list Mobileye in the middle of 2022 – news which sparked great excitement in the IPO space and a 2.6% climb in the Intel Corp share price.
Mobileye finally made its stock market debut on 26 October 2022, with a listing valuation of approximately $17 billion. By the end of the first day of trading, the company’s stock price had risen by 37%, giving it a new valuation of $22.74 billion.
Learn more about the Mobileye IPO or find out how to trade US IPO
Gold Hydrogen (market cap: A$20 million)
‘Gold’ hydrogen refers to high-quality, carbon neutral hydrogen which is produced from depleted oil reservoirs. It has been hailed as an eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuels which can extend the life of old oil wells and generate new sources of energy.
Gold Hydrogen, the company, has been spearheading the research into gold hydrogen mining, and plans to use IPO funds to invest in further exploration. If successful, the company believes that it could produce carbon-zero gas at less than 50 cents per kilogram. By contrast, ‘green’ hydrogen from solar and wind producers currently costs approximately $4 to $6 per kilogram.
Gold Hydrogen went public via the ASX on 13 January 2023, with a market cap of A$70 million and shares reached a high of 10% above the IPO price during the first day of trading.
Find out how to trade listings like Gold Hydrogen
How to get exposure to IPO stocks*
*Remember, with us you can only trade derivatives via CFDs
Grey market
Our exclusive grey markets enable you to take a position on a company’s market cap before it lists on a stock exchange.1 You’ll ‘buy’ (go long) if you think the company’s market cap will be higher than the grey market price at the end of the first trading day, or ‘sell’ (go short) if you think it will be lower.
To start trading grey markets, open an IG trading account.
Secondary market: buying the stock after the IPO – investing or trading*
Once the stock has listed, the secondary market will open, which is where individual investors exchange the stock between themselves.
- It usually takes a few hours for stocks to be available after a US IPO, as is the case with all brokers
- For UK IPOs, stocks should be available to trade from 8am (UK time) on the day of the listing
- All other IPOs we offer should be available right away, from the time the exchange opens on the day of listing
Trade on the company’s share price with CFDs
*With us you can only trade derivatives via CFDs.
Trading vs investing in IPO shares*
When trading a company’s shares with us, you can take a position on the underlying market price with CFDs. You won’t take ownership of the shares, so you can make a prediction on both rising and falling prices.
You’ll only need a small deposit – known as margin – to get full market exposure. Trading on leverage can magnify your profits, but it can also magnify your losses, making it important to have a suitable risk management strategy in place.
Learn how you can manage your risk
When investing, you’ll use a share dealing account to buy and sell the underlying stock. Because you’ll own the shares, you can only make money if the share price goes up – but you would also be entitled to any dividend payments that are made, and you’ll have shareholder rights.
To open a share dealing position, you’ll need to put down the full value of your investment. When investing, you’ll never lose more than this initial outlay.
*With us you can only trade derivatives via CFDs.
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FAQs
How can you trade upcoming IPOs?
With us, you can trade upcoming IPOs before the listing – if a grey market is available. A grey market enables you to take a position on the company’s share price before the IPO.
If we offer a grey market, the price will be based on our prediction of the company’s market cap at the end of its first trading day. You’d ‘buy’ if you think the market cap will be higher than the grey market price at the end of the first trading day, or ‘sell’ if you think it will be lower.
How soon can you trade IPO shares?
You can trade IPO shares as soon as the company lists on the stock market. You can take a position on share price movements with CFD trading.
What are the risks of trading in an IPO?
There is risk in all trading activity. IPOs have additional risks, which include:
- Having inadequate information about the company can mean that details that might affect the share price are missed, eg lack of research such as fundamental analysis and staying up to date with the latest news about the company
- Little to no trading history to assist in making informed decisions
- High market expectations that do not materialise
- Companies not meeting their target valuations
By staying informed about the company and all details that might affect its share price, you’ll be avoiding risks that could affect your positions. In the case of IPOs, useful documents include company prospectuses and admission documents.
Develop your knowledge of financial markets
Find out more about a range of markets and test yourself with IG Academy’s online courses.
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Sources and Footnotes
1We do not offer grey markets on all IPOs.
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