If you listen closely, you’ll hear the IPO band striking up for what might be 2019’s final parade. Bankers have seven offerings on this week’s IPO Calendar. They expect to raise nearly $2.8 billion. That’s good traffic in recent markets.
Leading the pack, the experts say, are Bill.com Holdings (BILL proposed), a cloud-based unicorn that aims to raise about $150 million, and the $1.7 billion IPO of XP Inc. (XP proposed), a Brazilian financial services firm. Sprout Social (SPT proposed), a Chicago-based social media management company, is also attracting some IPO investors’ attention. Rounding out the roster are two Chinese IPOs – EHang Holdings (EH proposed) and OneConnect Financial (OCFT proposed) – plus two blank check companies. (We’ll have more on these in a moment.)
December Data
Looking back at IPOScoop data for 2001 through 2018, the average for the month of December is 14 IPOs during that 18-year span. That’s more than a little above what 2019 has on the parade ground, but the month isn’t over.
If all get out the door, December 2019 could come in with eight. One small-cap deal was priced last week, and this week has seven IPOs on the launching pad.
The busiest December over the last 18 years was 36 IPOs in 2006. The slowest was December 2008, when nothing was priced – not surprising, in the wake of the U.S. stock market’s slide and Lehman Brothers’ collapse in September 2008.
China Watch
With two Chinese deals slated for this week, it’s worth noting that Chinese IPOs offered in the United States have not turned in a good report card this year.
In 2019, 22 China-based IPOs have been priced in the U.S. capital markets, according to available reports. Four recently closed above their IPO prices, while 18 were below, and the average return was a minus 18.2 percent.
December’s IPO Parade
Seven deals are in this week’s IPO parade, which could be the finale for December and 2019 as well. The estimated volume is almost $2.8 billion, making it one of the busiest weeks of the year.
Let’s take a look at these seven IPOs, organized by pricing and trading dates.
Monday evening for Tuesday trading:
LIV Capital Acquisition (LIVKU proposed), based in Molino del Rey, México, is a blank check company formed to focus on Mexican target businesses (or non-Mexican target businesses with a significant presence in Mexico).
Tuesday evening for Wednesday trading:
XP Inc. (XP proposed), based in Sao Paulo, is a leading technology-driven financial services broker and platform in Brazil. The country has the world’s sixth-largest economy with over 200 million people and a GDP of over US$2 trillion. Founded in 2001, XP says it’s the No. 1-ranked financial investment brand in Brazil, with an NPS (Net Promoter Score) of 71, as of September 2019, “the highest score in our market based on company filings, according to a third-party analyst research report.”
Wednesday evening for Thursday trading:
Bill.com Holdings (BILL proposed), based in Palo Alto, California, provides small and medium-sized businesses with cloud-based software that simplifies, digitizes and automates complex back-office financial operations. Customers use Bill.com’s platform “to generate and process invoices, streamline approvals, send and receive payments, sync with their accounting system, and manage their cash,” the prospectus says.
EHang Holdings (EH proposed), based in China, is developing passenger drones, which the company calls autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs).
Thursday evening for Friday trading:
Healthcare Merger (HCCOU proposed), based in New York, is a newly formed blank check company that intends “to capitalize on our management team’s differentiated ability to source, acquire and manage a business in the healthcare industry.”
OneConnect Financial Technology (OCFT proposed), based in China, is “a leading technology-as-a-service platform for financial institutions in China,” the prospectus says. The company began as the fintech arm of Ping An Group, China’s second-largest financial institution.
Sprout Social (SPT proposed), based in Chicago, is a social media management platform. The company says that more than 23,000 customers across 100 countries rely on its platform to reach larger audiences, create stronger relationships with their customers, and make better business decisions.
(For more information about these companies, please check the IPO Profiles on IPOScoop.com.)
December’s Third Week
The IPO Calendar is blank for the week of Dec. 16, 2019, but that could change when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s filing window opens again for business on Monday morning.
Stay tuned.
Disclosure: Neither the author nor anyone else on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned, nor do we trade or invest in IPOs. The author and IPOScoop.com staff do not issue advice, recommendations or opinions.