The largest IPO in the first quarter of 2024 originated in Switzerland: the listing of the Zug-based Galderma Group AG on the SIX Swiss Exchange saw the pharma firm that specializes in dermatology bank just under 2.3 billion Swiss francs, further details of which can be found in a press release issued by EY covering its recent IPO Barometer. The volume of Galderma’s IPO was therefore as high as the sum of all IPOs in Switzerland over the course of 2023.
“Following Galderma’s successful IPO, we hope that an important impetus has been given which will allow the momentum to continue on the Swiss capital market”, comments Tobias Meyer in the press release. In terms of the global development of IPOs, the Head of Transaction Accounting and IPO Services at EY in Switzerland is “cautiously optimistic” on account of falling inflation rates around the world and the expectation that central banks will begin to lower their rates.
In the quarter under review, the number of IPOs worldwide stood at 287 transactions, which reflects a decline of 7 percent on the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, the issuance volume increased from 22.1 billion to 23.7 billion US dollars. In this context, the regions of Europe and America record positive developments. However, in the Asia-Pacific region, both the number of transactions and the issuance volume were significantly down on the same quarter of the previous year.
The breakdown by individual industry reveals that Healthcare and Life Sciences accounted for the highest issuance volume with a jump of 280 percent to 5.9 billion US dollars. The technology sector was responsible for the highest number of individual IPOs, with 59 transactions.
