U.S IPO market poised for strong finish in 2023 amid a flurry of listings

A Wall Street sign is pictured outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File photo

NEW YORK  – U.S. investors are awaiting a slew of initial public offerings (IPO) in coming months, hoping to ride the recent rally in equity markets.

The deals could revive demand for new listings, which have been in the doldrums for nearly two years amid rising interest rates, higher inflation, geopolitical tensions, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Here are the highlights:

Arm Holdings

A smartphone with a displayed Arm Ltd logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

British chip-designer Arm Holdings, owned by Japan’s Softbank Group, launched what is expected to be this year’s biggest IPO that could raise about $5 billion and value the company at as much as $52 billion.

The company publicly filed its IPO with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month and kicked off its IPO roadshow this week in Baltimore, where influential asset manager T Rowe Price is headquartered.

Arm says it has already signed up many of its major clients as cornerstone investors, including Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel and Samsung Electronics.

Arm is considered to be a linchpin of the global semiconductor industry because its chip designs are widely used by most product manufacturers, including Nvidia, Intel, AMD, Samsung, and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited.

Barclays, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Mizuho Financial Group are the lead underwriters for the offering.

Arm expects to begin trading on the Nasdaq in coming weeks under the symbol “ARM”.

Instacart

Grocery delivery service Instacart unveiled its filing for a long-awaited IPO last month, more than a year after it submitted papers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the listing.

Instacart’s business boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic owing to a surge in online orders. But the company’s growth slowed as lockdown restrictions were eased, and it responded by cutting costs and laying off workers.

The company was last valued at $10 billion in December 2022, according to internal estimates reported by media company The Information — far lower than the $39 billion valuation it secured following a 2020 funding round.

Norges Bank Investment Management, a division of Norges Bank, and entities affiliated with venture capital firms TCV, Sequoia Capital, D1 Capital Partners and Valiant Capital Management, have agreed to participate in the IPO as cornerstone investors, Instacart said.

Fidji Simo, a former Facebook executive, was hired as Instacart’s CEO in 2021 as part of its preparations to go public. The company was founded in 2012.

Goldman Sachs and J.P.Morgan are the lead underwriters for the offering, Instacart said, adding that its shares would be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol “CART.”

Klaviyo

Data and marketing automation firm Klaviyo disclosed its filing for its IPO in August, months after it confidentially submitted paperwork for the listing.

Klaviyo did not disclose the size, timetable or other details of the offering. But Reuters reported in May that the company was planning a listing as soon as this year, targeting to raise at least $750 million. It raised $320 million in its last funding round in 2021, which gave it a valuation of $9.15 billion.

Founded in 2012, Klaviyo’s platform allows e-commerce companies to send personalized marketing emails and messages to potential customers. It is backed by Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify and affiliates of investment firm Summit Partners.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are lead underwriters on the offering, the company said in its filing. Its shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “KVYO”.

VNG

Vietnamese internet company VNG Corp has filed for a market debut on the Nasdaq, making it the first technology firm from the Southeast Asian country to list in the United States.

Founded in 2004, VNG is Vietnam’s first unicorn, or startup valued at $1 billion or more. The Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered company’s businesses include online games, payments, cloud services and Vietnam’s most popular messaging app, Zalo.

VNG is aiming to raise as much as $150 million, targeting a trading debut by the end of September or October, Reuters reported. Some of its backers include Chinese social media and gaming giant Tencent and Singapore state investor Temasek.

Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Bank of America are underwriters of the IPO, according to the filing.