2014 proved to be the year of initial public offerings (IPOs). In America alone, 275 companies issued common class stock, the most since 2000 (when over 400 companies engaged in IPOs). Led by Chinese E-Commerce giant Alibaba (BABA), U.S. IPOs in 2014 raised over $85 billion in capital, an increase of more than 40% Y/Y compared to 2013. Alibaba alone raised a record-breaking $22 billion, besting both Facebook’s (FB) 2012 IPO ($16 billion) and Visa’s (V) 2008 IPO ($17.8 billion).
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Investors Hungry For IPOs
In the midst of an abysmal past two weeks on Wall Street, a mobile food ordering app, GrubHub (GRUB), went public. Last Friday (April 11) CEO Matt Maloney overlooked the NYSE trading floor to witness the results of his company’s IPO. Initial investor demand was so high that the company raised its initial offering target price from $20-22 to $23-25, and saw its stock shoot up 50% to $39 before eventually ending the day around $34.
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