Chunumunu
One small Asian issuer went public in the US this past week, ahead of the Christmas holiday.
Japanese e-commerce firm Linkage Global (LGCB) priced at the low end to raise $6 million at an $86 million market cap. Operating through entities in Japan, Hong Kong, and mainland China, Linkage offers a system comprised of cross-border sales and integrated e-commerce services. The company is fairly small but profitable and growing. Linkage Global finished down 49%.
There were a handful of new filings this past week, led by specialty insurer Aspen Holdings (AHL.PR.C), which filed for an IPO we estimate could raise up to $500 million.
| 7 Filings During the Week of December 18th, 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer Business | Deal Size | Sector | Lead Underwriter |
| $60M | Communication Services | EF Hutton | |
| Provides advertising services via a network of monitors across China. | |||
|
Micropolis Holding (MCRO.RC) |
$37M | Technology | Network 1 |
| Dubai-based developer of autonomous mobile robots and related software. | |||
| $15M | Technology | Boustead | |
| Chinese provider of software primarily for property and restaurant management applications. | |||
| $500M | Financials | Goldman | |
| Bermuda-based global provider of specialty P&C insurance and reinsurance. | |||
| $17M | Consumer Discretionary | ThinkEquity | |
| Operates an online casino gaming platform. | |||
| $25M | Consumer Discretionary | Roth Cap. | |
| Manufactures and distributes powersports vehicles and motorboats. | |||
| $50M | Health Care | Loop Capital | |
| Phase 2 biotech developing intranasal and oral therapies for brain cancer. | |||
There are currently no IPOs scheduled for the short holiday week ahead. While some small foreign issuers may join the calendar late, the window for any major IPOs will be effectively closed until the new year.
After a relatively muted 2023, rumblings in the public IPO pipeline and the private company backlog signal a pickup in the year ahead. The industrials, healthcare, and consumer sectors should remain active, and we expect to see a more robust comeback from large tech IPOs.
IPO Market Snapshot
The Renaissance IPO Indices are market cap weighted baskets of newly public companies. As of 12/21/2023, the Renaissance IPO Index was up 50.9% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 was up 25.6%. Renaissance Capital’s IPO ETF (IPO) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Kenvue (KVUE) and Coinbase Global (COIN). The Renaissance International IPO Index was down 17.8% year-to-date, while the ACWX was up 14.1%. Renaissance Capital’s International IPO ETF (IPOS) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Kuaishou and Wise.
Editor’s Note: The summary bullets for this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors.
