By Ben Fox Rubin
The U.S. market for initial public offerings is expected to
build momentum going into the fourth quarter, as continued strength
in the equities markets and a healthy registration pipeline should
help wash away concerns about a recent pause in the market,
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said.
The IPO market has continued to show windows of opportunity
throughout year, said Henri Leveque of PricewaterhouseCoopers, or
PwC.
"The markets started well in July, became fairly muted in
August, and showed a substantial pickup in activity in September to
close out the quarter," he said. "As volatility decreased and the
equity markets climbed to levels not seen since 2007, we've seen
well-prepared companies able to execute on their IPO plans."
A total of 29 U.S. IPOs took place in the third quarter,
compared with 31 IPOs in the second quarter and 21 IPOs a year
earlier, according to IPO Watch, a quarterly and annual survey of
IPOs listed on U.S. stock exchanges by PwC. Total proceeds raised
in the third quarter were $6.6 billion, aided by Banco Santander
S.A.'s (SAN, SAN.MC) Mexican unit's dual listing in the U.S. and
Mexico. That IPO raised $2.9 billion in the U.S. and became the
second-largest U.S. IPO of the year, following that of Facebook
Inc. (FB). The quarter ended strongly, with eight IPOs pricing in
the final two weeks of September, included that of Grupo Financiero
Santander Mexico S.A.B. de C.V. (BSMX, SANMEX.MX).
The second quarter had total proceeds of $21.8 billion, which
included Facebook's $16 billion IPO. The third quarter in 2011
raised $3.2 billion.
The financial and technology sectors were the leading sectors in
the third quarter.
So far in 2012, 104 companies completed their IPOs, raising a
total of $34.1 billion, compared with 106 IPOs in the first three
quarters of 2011 that raised $29.1 billion.
Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@dowjones.com.
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