The global initial public offering (IPO) market was on a roll this year, as companies sought to take advantage of the rising stock market and strong investor appetite.
IPO volume totaled $257.7 billion – up 49 percent on year and the highest total since 2010, according to preliminary figures from Dealogic.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group's blockbuster $25.0 billion IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), was the largest this year and on record, topping Agricultural Bank of China's $22.1 billion listing in 2010.
Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank's $6.0 billion IPO and Australia's largest private health insurer Medibank Private's $4.9 billion IPO ranked in second and third place for the year.
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By sector, technology and finance companies were the most active in their equity market capital raising activities.
Technology IPOs raised $59.9 billion in 2014, surging from $11.0 billion last year and the second highest yearly volume on record behind 2000. Meanwhile, finance IPOs raised $38.5 billion, more than double the $19.2 billion raised in 2013.
Top exchange of 2014 is…
The NYSE retained its crown as the largest exchange by IPO volume in 2014, with 111 deals valued at $71.7 billion, a record year for the exchange. Last year, volume totaled $43.9 billion.
NYSE beat Nasdaq by clinching Alibaba's record-breaking IPO, a big blow to Nasdaq, which has been the preferred option for many tech companies listing in the U.S.
Nevertheless, Nasdaq led by number of deals with 173 IPOs valued at a total of $23.3 billion.
Asian companies rush to raise cash
By region, Asian companies led the way in fund raising, with IPO volumes climbing to $106.8 billion, the highest since 2010.
Europe, Middle East and Africa, or EMEA, and U.S. companies raised $83.8 billion and $60.9 billion, respectively. For the U.S., this was the highest total since 2000.
British-owned U.S. bank Citizens Financial Group's $3.5 billion IPO in September was the U.S.'slargest IPO since Facebook's listing in 2012.