- A few big names have signalled their intention for listing
- Reddit, Canva and Klarna are some of global companies looking to IPO this year
- And here are 2 upcoming IPOs on the ASX
In 2023, Tech was the largest sector in terms of IPO proceeds globally in 2023, raising US$34.4bn, followed by the Healthcare (US$10.7bn) and Financials (US$9.6bn) sectors.
In terms of regions, IPO volumes were very subdued in the US and Europe, with no European market in the top 10 globally.
Asia was the only region with proceeds broadly consistent with 2019, with other regions below this level, China being the most active.
Looking ahead in 2024, a number of well known companies have already signalled upcoming IPOs.
Let’s take a look at the progress of three big upcoming ones:
Reddit IPO
Excitement is growing for Reddit’s IPO debut, which is expected to be sometime this quarter.
The market is anticipating a US$5bn valuation, half the value at which the company raised funds in 2021.
Reddit was founded in 2005, one year after Facebook, but as of today, the social media platform only has 2% of Meta’s global audience.
In its heyday, Reddit was called “the front page of the Internet”, but the company never actually made a profit.
Reddit’s revenue rose by 20% to US$800m in 2023, but its EBITDA showed a loss of about US$69 million, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Last week, Reddit reportedly signed an agreement with an unnamed large AI company to train its models on the platform’s content.
Klarna IPO
Has the buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector finally come good?
Swedish BNPL company Klarna, which was once called Europe’s most valuable startup, has said that an IPO will happen quite soon, but there are no official dates.
Investors have been speculating where it will actually list – in its hometown of Sweden, in London, or elsewhere.
In 2023, Klarna was reportedly valued at around US$8 billion, falling significantly from US$45 billion just a few years prior.
In its most recent quarter, Klarna booked a revenue of US$542m for an operating profit of US$12m.
As of the latest update, the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) still owns approximately 5.5% of Klarna.
Canva IPO
IPO hopeful Canva has unexpectedly lost its chief financial officer, Damien Singh, after he departed suddenly a couple of weeks ago.
In an email to his colleagues dates February 5, Singh reportedly wrote to his colleagues:
“As we move towards the vision of Finance 2.0, I’ve been working closely with the Finance Leads over the past few months as we explore what’s needed for the next phase of our journey as a company. As part of this, I also wanted to share that today marks my last day at Canva.”
Rumour is that Canva doesn’t plan to list until 2025-26, but the Sydney-based company has its eyes on a potential US listing size of around US$25 billion.
And now…
Here’s how the 2024 ASX IPOs performed
| Code | Name | IPO Price | Current Price | Return | Market cap | Listing date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KM1 | Kali Metals | 0.25 | 0.42 | 68% | $31,681,969 | 8/1/2024 |
| I88 | Infini Resources | 0.20 | 0.255 | 28% | $9,564,305 | 15/1/2024 |
| WAG | Australian Wealth Advisors | 0.25 | 0.33 | 32% | $26,027,750 | 16/2/2024 |
| MAC | Metals Acquisition | 17 | 19 | 12% | $363,235,312 | 20/2/2024 |
There were a couple of new ASX listings since we last published an IPO Wrap story two weeks ago.
Australian Wealth Advisors (ASX:WAG), or AWAG as it prefers to call itself, closed 50% higher on debut, but has pulled back since.
AWAG was founded in Melbourne in 2021 by a group of experienced financial market professionals as a holding company.
The company specialises in investing in wealth advisory businesses, as well as in mergers and acquisitions.
AWAG raised $5m in the IPO round, and in FY23, the company reported revenue of around $8m for a bottom line profit after tax of just under $0.2m.
Metals Acquisition (ASX:MAC) rose 11% on Tuesday, its first day of trading on the ASX.
MAC is one of the largest ASX listings in recent years with $325 million IPO at $17 a share.
The company is already listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker MTAL, meaning that its ASX IPO is a dual listing done through CHESS depositary interests (CDIs).
MAC said it will use the IPO proceeds to repay a deferred consideration facility related to the acquisition of its CSA copper mine near Cobar, NSW.
The CSA mine is thought to be one of Australia’s highest grade copper mines, with estimates of about 40,000 tonnes of copper each year.
In addition to the current operations, MAC also holds 566 square kilometres of tenements around the area, with the potential to expand and extend CSA’s future mine life.
Upcoming ASX IPO listings
All dates are sourced from the ASX website. They could change without notice.
Golden Globe Resources (ASX:GGR)
Expected listing: February 26, 2024
IPO:$6 million at 20 cents/share
The gold explorer with projects in Queensland, WA and NSW was down to list on the local bourse in October 2023.
In the last four years, the company says it has acquired four projects with high prospectivity including Dooloo Creek and Alma in Queensland, Crossways in Western Australia, and Neila Creek in NSW.
GGR says each of these projects offers substantial opportunities for gold resources, including high-grade copper. The explorer has conducted extensive drilling and sampling at Dooloo Creek, yielding impressive results over the past two years.
There are plans for further drilling across all GGR projects, with an immediate focus on Neila Creek and ongoing efforts at Dooloo Creek.
K S Capital is lead manager of the float.
Litchfield Minerals (ASX:LMS)
Expected listing: February 28, 2024
IPO:$5.5 million at 20 cents/share
Northern Territory-focused Litchfield Minerals is gearing up to list on the ASX with a smorgasbord of uranium and critical minerals exploration assets.
These include drill-ready copper and uranium targets at the Mount Doreen tenement in the Arunta region, about 350km from Alice Springs, and the highly prospective Lucy Creek manganese project in the Georgina Basin.
Uranium is currently running hot, thanks to a parabolic move through a US$100/lb spot price over the past year.
Backed by a team of Rio Tinto and AngloAmerican alumni, Litchfield says that once listed, it plans to hit the ground running with a multi-target drilling and sampling program at Mount Doreen.