Recovering markets in Europe drive rise in international floats
CROSS-border flotations raised $25.7bn (£15.1bn) in the first half of 2014, up 151 per cent on the year, law firm Baker McKenzie said today.
The fastest growth came in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) where 31 flotations brought in $10.5bn, up 300 per cent on the year.
Of those flotations, 21 were on the London Stock Exchange, raising a total of $4.9bn.
North America followed closely with 27 foreign initial public offerings (IPO) raising $7.9bn – a jump of 274 per cent on the year.
Of those, the biggest deal was Chinese firm JD.com which raised $1.8bn.
The strong growth is set to continue in the second half of the year as Chinese internet giant Alibaba plans to list in New York – a fundraising which could rake in more than $20bn on its own.