There were 199 initial public offerings in U.S. markets between July 1, 2021, and September 30, 2021. Together, these IPOs raised over $49.7 billion – a decrease of $36 billion from last quarter. This was a decrease of nearly $12 billion from the same period last year. Like Q2 2021, traditional IPOs drove Initial public offering activity in Q3. They compromised 54.3% of the IPO Market.
The number of IPOs was higher in Q3 2021 than any other third quarter in 22 years. The number of IPOs in Q3 2021 represents a 20.6% increase from Q2 2021. Despite this increase, the proceeds raised in Q3 2021 ($49.7 billion) are about 19.2% less than those raised in Q3 2021.
Industry Analysis
There were 6 IPOs with proceeds greater than or equal to $1 billion this quarter. Warby Parker topped the charts in terms of proceeds this quarter. They raised approximately 3.1B. Coinbase Global, Inc. [COIN], a regulated cryptocurrency company, still ranks as the highest IPO since 2000 and of 2021, as shown in the table below.
Accounting and Legal Representation
The top IPO this quarter, Warby Parker, was audited by EY and represented by Latham & Watkins.
Auditor Market Share – All IPOs
Together, the Big Four audited 72 IPOs, or 36.2%, of the IPO market in Q3 2021.
Marcum led, in terms of count, with 49 total IPO audit clients, which collectively raised over $8.9 billion.
Auditor Market Share – Excluding Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
Out of the 199 IPOs in U.S. markets this quarter, 89 (or 44.7%) were SPACs.
A SPAC is a type of blank check company with the sole purpose of raising capital through the process of an IPO in order to acquire or merge with an existing company. The table below shows the auditor market share for IPOs in Q3 2021 for traditional IPOs and direct listings, excluding SPACs.
Excluding SPACs, EY, Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG dominated in terms of IPO count and amount raised. Together, the Big Four audited 71 IPOs, or 64.5%, of the IPO market in Q3 2021. As shown in the table above, excluding SPACs, EY held the top spot this quarter with 26 IPO clients followed by Deloitte with 23 IPO clients. EY’s 24 traditional IPO and direct listing clients raised the highest amount of aggregate proceeds during the quarter.
Emerging Growth Companies
191 of the 199 IPO companies, or 96%, chose to register as emerging growth companies (EGCs) in Q3 2021.
Conclusion
Although Q3 2021 continued this year’s trend of increased IPOs in comparison to previous years, traditional IPOs were the leading offering type for this quarter. SPACs comprised 44.7% of all IPOs, an increase from last quarter, where they accounted for 33.1% of this market.
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