Fewer issues, higher values testament to steady IPO market: PwC

TORONTO, OCTOBER 1, 2015 – Five initial public offerings on the TSX in the third quarter of 2015 raised more than $795 million in new equity and pushed the total for the year to 12 new TSX issues worth $2.2 billion, the quarterly PwC survey of Canadian IPO markets revealed today.

Two issues on the CSE in the third quarter brought the total number of new issues to seven for the quarter and 20 for all Canadian exchanges in 2015, the PwC survey reported.

By comparison, issuers raised $531 million from a total of five IPOs (two on the TSX, three on the TSX Venture) in the third quarter of 2014. Results for the first three quarters of 2014 were slightly ahead of the 2015 tally, with $2.6 billion raised.

The largest issue of the third quarter was the $300 million Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. IPO on the TSX. Three of the five new issues on the TSX in the quarter were more than $100 million, data that points to a continuation of a trend to fewer IPOs with larger proceeds, said Dean Braunsteiner, national IPO leader at PwC in Canada.

“We’re witnessing the steady evolution of the IPO market into a home for mature companies with solid business models and strong valuations,” Braunsteiner said. “Companies that have done their homework and are prepared when they come to market are rewarded by investors.”

The $135 million TMAC Resources Inc. IPO typifies the kind of patient approach taken by mature companies, Braunsteiner said, while departing from the old model for new issues from resources sector. “We’re used to seeing junior minors in the exploration phase raise capital on the TSX Venture.  That model is no longer viable in this market. The new model shows that mining companies that are in the development phase can find a place in the market but they have to be further along the development curve.”

The $65 million Crown Capital Partners Inc. issue represents a continuation of the growth in popularity of special-purpose investment companies, Braunsteiner added, a trend he sees extending into the final quarter of the year where the pipeline of new issues also includes technology companies and REITs. Market watchers will be particularly interested in the fourth quarter flotation of Ontario’s Hydro One electrical utility as a possible model for other government asset sales, Braunsteiner said.

PwC has conducted its survey of the IPO market in Canada for more than 10 years. The reports are issued on a quarterly basis to provide information to the corporate sector, investors, the media and others that will help them put the market into better perspective. For the purposes of the survey, investment vehicles such as structured products are not considered IPOs because they do not represent new equity raised for operating companies.

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