This month will likely be the first June for at least 20 years in which there were no European stock market flotations valued above $100 million, according to research from Dealogic.
T
he research company estimated that European initial public offering (IPO) volumes in June 2012 would be the lowest on record for the month.
Several stock market flotations have been postponed or cancelled altogether, particularly in recent weeks.
German chemicals company Evonik Industries pulled its plans to launch an IPO expected to raise $6.3 billion on Monday because of adverse global market conditions – the largest abandoned European IPO since Loterias y Apuestas del Estado withdrew its $10.1billion IPO in September 2011.
Motorsport’s premier competition Formula 1 postponed its debut on the Singapore stock exchange earlier this month, as did soccer team Manchester United.
Both cited global market conditions for their withdrawal from the launches.
Other high-profile IPOs have disappointed, most notablyFacebook’s debut on the Nasdaq last month. Shares in Facebookwere initally offered at $45 per share, but fell dramatically after the launch and traded on Thursday at $31.84.
In Europe 11 IPOs have been withdrawn or postponed so far this year, including six post-launch, with an estimated total value of $10.8 billion.
March was the biggest month for European IPOs since July 2011, with ten companies raising $2.6 billion between them.
But since then IPO volume has declined sharply each month and so far totals just $122 million in June from four deals.
For the year to date European IPOs total $4 billion from 50 launches, their lowest level since 2009, according to Dealogic, when $547m was raised from 19 IPOs and six times smaller than at the same time last year, when there had already been $26 billion raised from 157 debuts on European markets.