❄️ IPO thaw
The thawing of the IPO market in the US will have implications for the Australian startup ecosystem and, potentially, the ASX.
“No more waiting around for better conditions. If a company's got the goods, now's the time to make moves!” wrote KPMG partner Amanda Price on LinkedIn this week, referring to the red hot global market for initial public offerings (IPOs). “In just one week, offerings raised over $5.6 billion worldwide, with many seeing impressive early gains.”
The renaissance for new listings in the US started with social media platform Reddit's successful IPO, in which it raised USD748 million ($1.15 billion) at a USD6.5 billion valuation.
This was significant on a number of levels. The IPO was effectively a down round (Reddit was reportedly valued at over USD10 billion in its last private fundraising round in 2021), which many are viewing as a healthy reset for valuations.
But perhaps more importantly in an Australian context, it was also a sign that venture-backed tech companies in the sub USD10 billion market cap range can still find an audience in the US investment landscape.
