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Written by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro and Emma Victoria Farr
LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German defense contractor Lenk and Greece’s Athens International Airport (AIA) soared in their market debuts on Wednesday, boosting Europe’s bruised IPO market.
Shares in tank transmission maker Lenk closed at 19.65 euros on Wednesday afternoon, 31% higher than the price investors paid in a private placement ahead of the company’s listing.
AIA initially soared as much as 15% and closed at 9.16 euros per share, 12% above its IPO price.
The success of Europe’s first major initial public offering (IPO) this year was seen as a good sign by bankers, who are hoping for an even busier 2024 after trading volumes have plummeted over the past two years. It is being
“This is the beginning of a possible reopening of the European IPO market,” said Marco Guarino, executive director of Morgan Stanley’s regional equity capital markets (ECM) syndicate, which co-led the Athens IPO.
“We expect the market to be busier not only around Easter, but also in late Q2 and Q3.”
Kazakh airline Air Astana is in the midst of listing its shares and depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange and in its home country.
Elsewhere, German perfume retailer Douglas is preparing for an IPO as early as this quarter, people familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.
Swiss skincare giant Galderma, Italian fashion company Golden Goose and German transport group Flix are also on bankers’ list of potential IPOs this year.
However, not all companies that entered the market since January reacted in the same way as Lenk and AIA, suggesting that investor appetite for new stocks is still recovering.
Theon International, a developer of night vision and thermal imaging systems for defense and security, saw its stock price fall below its public offering price in its trading debut in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
The Cyprus-based group and its shareholders expect to raise up to €154 million in the IPO after setting a purchase price at the lower end of a target price range.
Lenk was forced to cancel its IPO in October amid difficult market conditions.
Since then, central banks have begun to signal a pause in rate hikes, and defense stocks have rebounded from their fall losses.
Deutsche Bank managing director Heiko Leopold said ongoing discussions with investors enabled the company to issue 500 million euros of shares in just two days.
Malte Hopp, head of ECM for Germany and Austria at Citi, added: “We are there. The positive movement in the share price shows that market sentiment is much improved.” .
(Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro in London and Emma-Victoria Farr in Frankfurt; Editing by Anousha Sakoui and David Evans)
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