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IPO zeal intact after shaky Rocket Internet launch

Despite a mixed start to October, 2014 is set to be a "blockbuster" year for global IPOs with volumes nearing pre-crisis levels, experts told CNBC.

An initial public offering—or IPO—is when a private company becomes public and sells shares in their firm.

Financial and tech companies have been queueing up to go public in the wake of Alibaba's $25-billion debut last month, building on an uptick in IPOs that began in the middle of last year.

Read MoreRocket Internet falls 14% in stock market debut

The first nine months of 2014 saw 851 IPOs, raising a total of $186.6 billion, according to financial services firm EY. This was 49 percent more than during the same period in 2013, and marked a 94-percent increase in proceeds.

Alibaba's company logo at its office in Hong Kong on February 22, 2012.
Aaron Tam/Stringer | Getty Images

The performance of these newly-listed shares has been mixed, however. Shares of e-commerce incubator Rocket Internet tumbled up to 14 percent after launching on Thursday in the biggest German IPO since Telefonica Deutschland in 2012.

Other companies, such as Royal Bank of Scotland spin-off Citizens Financial, were forced to lower their IPO prices in response to a push-back from investors before launching.

Read MoreAlibaba prices IPO at $68 a share

By contrast, shares of Zalando—an online retailer in which Rocket Internet invested—rose as much as 12 percent in their Frankfurt debut on Wednesday. Plus, shares in Dubai's Emaar Malls Group jumped 20 percent at its launch on Thursday.

Maria Pinelli, global vice chair of strategic growth markets at EY, forecast that the IPO boom could continue into the early months of 2015, despite disappointing performances from companies like Rocket Internet.

"In general we have had a blockbuster year that has already surpassed 2013," she told CNBC on Thursday. "I would say we are looking very strong for the fourth quarter – there are 10 very good companies waiting to come to market in the U.K. alone."

Read MoreZalando shares rise as much as 12 percent in debut

Upcoming British debuts include Richard Branson's Virgin Money, which is aiming to raise £150 million pounds ($243 million), and Wayfair, which priced at $29 per share.

"It feels like 2014 could reach pre-crisis levels (for IPOs)… We are not quite back to pre-crisis levels, but we are getting pretty close," Baker & McKenzie Partner Edward Bibko told CNBC. "I think people are just tremendously busy in the city… The banks are as full as they have been pre-summer and the current signs are that this is continuing."