Though the number of IPOs completed so far this year is below the elevated levels evidenced during 2014 and 2013, IPO activity still remains above 2008-2012 levels. As a direct reflection of the higher number of IPOs completed during the period 2013-15, we are also now seeing an increase in the numbers of IPO-related securities lawsuit filings. IPO-related suits were an important part of the 2014 securities class action lawsuit filings, and they represent an even more significant part of 2015 YTD securities suit filings.
Continue Reading 2015 YTD Securities Suit Filings Reflect Increased Numbers of IPO-Related Lawsuits
U.S. IPO Activity Remains at Heightened Levels in Year’s First Half
Although the IPO pace is off from last year’s sizzling levels, the number of companies completing IPOs on U.S. exchanges remains at heightened levels. In addition, the number of completed IPOs picked up as the year progressed, suggesting that IPO activity in the U.S. in the year’s second half will also be lively.
U.S. IPO activity in 2014 was at the highest levels in more than a decade, when there were a total of 275 U.S. IPOs (as discussed here). According to Renaissance Capital (here), through the first six months of 2015, there have been a total of 104 completed IPOs, which is well below the 147 completed in the first half of 2014 (representing a decline of 29%). However, other than when compared with 2014, the number of U.S. IPOs completed in the first half of 2015 is the first half total since 2004.
The pace of completed IPOs has picked up as 2015 has progressed. The number of U.S. IPOs completed in June 2015 was the highest monthly total since July 2014, and the number of IPOs completed during the week ending on June 25, 2015 was the highest weekly total since October 2014, as discussed here. Moreover, the market for IPOs appears to be quite healthy as we head into the year’s second half. Seres Therapeutics, which debuted during the week ending June 25, 2015 soared 186% on its first day of trading, the highest post-IPO pop since January 2014.
Continue Reading U.S. IPO Activity Remains at Heightened Levels in Year’s First Half
What’s Up with IPOs?
It has been three years since Congress passed the JOBS Act in the hope that aiding “Emerging Growth Companies” would help create jobs. Among other things, the Act’s IPO on-ramp provisions were designed to encourage fledgling companies to go public, on the theory that that would boost employment. As discussed below, the legislation’s jobs creation
IPO-Related Securities Suit Filings Surge – in State Court?
A probable accompaniment of the increased IPO activity during 2013 and 2014 is an increase in IPO-related litigation, as I have previously noted. There has already been one high-profile IPO-related securities suit filed this year, the securities class action lawsuit filed last week against the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. And if the two additional
Exceptional 2014 U.S. IPO Activity Strongest in More Than a Decade
2014 was a very strong year for IPOs globally, but in the U.S., where there were more IPOs this year than any year since 2000, this was an “exceptional” year, according to the latest quarterly global IPO report from accounting and consulting firm EY. The report, entitled “EY Global IPO Trends: 2014 Q4” can be
IPO Companies and Fee-Shifting Bylaws
One of the more interesting recent developments in the D&O liability arena has been the emergence of issues surrounding fee-shifting bylaws. As readers will recall, in May 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court in the ATP Tours case upheld the validity of a non-stock corporation’s bylaw imposing attorneys’ fees on an unsuccessful claimant in an intra-corporate
JOBS Act Provisions Fuel IPO Surge, Raise Concerns
All eyes may be on the record-setting IPO of Chinese Internet firm, Alibaba, but the real IPO story for 2014 may be the significant number of IPOs this year involving smaller companies. The number of companies completing IPOs this year is on pace for the highest annual level since 2007, a surge in initial public
IPO-Related Securities Litigation Picks Up
In several posts of the last several months (most recently here), I have commented that with the increased number of IPOs, an increase in IPO-related securities litigation would likely follow. If the securities litigation filing activity over the last couple of weeks is any indication, the anticipated increase in IPO-related securities litigation has arrived.
The Pre-IPO Company and “Failure to Launch” Claims
Due to a combination of favorable circumstances, the number of companies completing initial public offerings is currently at the highest level in years. According to a recent study from Cornerstone Research (here), with the 112 IPOs in the first half of 2014, IPO activity is on pace to increase for the third consecutive
Here’s Something We Haven’t Seen for a While: An Increase in U.S. Public Companies
The number of companies with shares listed on U.S. stock exchanges increased last year compared to 2012, which is the first annual increase in the number of publicly traded companies in the U.S. since 1997, according to information from the World Federation of Exchanges. As reflected in a February 5, 2014 Wall Street