Global Technology: IPO Review Full- year and Q4 2016

Global Technology IPO Review Full-year and Q4 2016 Global Technology IPO Review Full-year and Q4 2016 1 Global tech IPOs in 2016 dropped to their lowest level in the decade amidst macroeconomic and geopolitical turmoil, but a stream of high-profile companies in the pipeline will likely create a resurgence in 2017* Raman Chitkara Partner and Global Technology Industry Leader PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP raman.chitkara@us.pwc.com On the heels of two strong years, 2016 ended with the fewest global technology IPOs of any year in the decade, with only 53 tech companies completing initial public offerings for total proceeds of US$8.7 billion. That’s a 42% decline in volume and a 68% decline in proceeds from 2015. With 20 tech IPOs, Q3 was the best period of the year, but Q4 was the worst, with just nine tech IPOs. The market rally following the US elections bodes well for a healthier global tech IPO market in 2017. The year started slowly with only 24 IPOs and US$2.2 billion in proceeds in the first half of 2016, a result of the steep stock market sell-off in January that froze out potential IPO companies. Volatility and uncertainty closed the US IPO window, and China posted just three tech IPOs in the first quarter. The UK, historically one of the leading markets in Europe, saw no tech IPOs in 2016, a result of uncertainty over the Brexit election that grew into concern about executing on the outcome. Although the UK was absent, Europe posted reasonable results with 10 IPOs from eight countries, including three of the largest tech IPOs of the year. They included the largest, Net A/S, a digital payments company in Denmark, at US$2.4 billion. Given uncertainty associated with the US presidential election, most companies chose to remain on the sidelines in the fourth quarter. Overall, tech IPOs rebounded in the second half of 2016, with an almost three-fold jump in proceeds. Even so, average proceeds only equaled those in 2010 (US$165 million), the prior low for the decade. Big-ticket IPOs that were common in 2014 and 2015 were all but non-existent in 2016. With 80% of tech companies that debuted in 2014 or 2015 typically trading below their first-day closing prices during most of 2016, valuations became a key concern.1 The combination of uncertain market conditions, high private valuations and ample cash caused many companies to wait until public markets offer a more favorable environment, like we’re starting to see in early 2017. Looking ahead, optimism for higher economic growth post US elections has spurred a market rally. With investors keeping a sharp focus on profitability, not simply revenue growth, we expect the companies going public will likely have better earnings quality and less aggressive valuations than in recent years. This should help to support and accelerate tech IPOs in 2017. Sincerely, 1. https://www.bdo.nz/getattachment/Insights/Advisory/Newsletters/2016-Technology-Risk-Factor-Report/2016-Technology-RiskFactor-Report-Brochure-WEB.pdf.aspx?lang=en-NZ *Issue size greater than US$40 million (includes overallotment) and based on trade date; See Methodology Table of contents 1. Full-year 2016 global tech IPO summary 3 2. A close look at full-year 2016 technology IPOs 12 Geographic IPO trends – Full-year 2016 ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Europe and the UK .................................................................................................................................................................. 12 China ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 13 United States ........................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Full-year 2016 tech IPOs – Offering details ........................................................................................................................... 15 3. Q4 2016 Global tech IPO summary 19 Q4 2016 Top 5 technology listings ................................................................................................................................................ 20 Q4 2016 Geographic tech IPO trends ............................................................................................................................................ 21 United States .......................................................................................................................................................................... 22 China ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Europe (excluding UK) ...................