Many hopes were pinned this year on a resumption of IPOs. But even though Spain was the scene of the biggest premiere in Europe with the debut of Puig, the year 2024 is coming to an end without more protagonists. If we add to this the fact that some companies are in the process of being delisted from the stock exchange or are on hold, the reality is that, for another year, it is possible that the number of those listed on the Spanish stock exchange does not increase; except in the small business market, BME Growth. And that would have been seven consecutive years during which the universe of listed companies did not develop.
Europastry should be made public last ThursdayBut on October 10, the frozen bakery company canceled its debut on Tuesday at the last minute, alluding to the international geopolitical situation. This isn’t the first time the company has delayed its premiere. And it is not the only Spanish company to do this in recent times. Tendam and Astara also postponed it this year.
New names have emerged among companies interested in making the jump to the trading floor, such as Cox.. Its intention, according to sources close to the operation, is to try to launch with a public subscription offering (OPS) of 300 million euros before the elections which will be held in the United States on November 5. But geopolitical instability is still very present and experts predict weeks of volatility on the markets. If the operation finally materializes before the end of the year, this dynamic which has been dragging on the Spanish stock market since 2018 could be broken.
Beyond the uncertainties, the current scenario of falling interest rates and economic growth should actually encourage more outflows in the months to come if volatility does not take hold. In addition, the Ibex 35 is performing better this year than the rest of the European indices, which has not happened in other years and which has led some experts to consider that the Spanish showcase That hadn’t helped. Many companies were precisely waiting for valuations to become more attractive. Puig, on the other hand, has fallen 20% since his debut after disappointing with his results.
Companies are withdrawing
The concern that few new companies are entering the market is compounded by the fact that some are leaving it. The president of the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), Rodrigo Buenaventura, described it this week: “We must highlight the abundance of public takeover bids for listed companies. This year there have been eight takeover bids, six of which are still openamong which the public purchase offer for Banco Sabadell obviously stands out. “I find it positive that there are offers aimed at shareholders, even if this sometimes means the exclusion of companies, provided that there are at the same time new IPOs.”
The latter is broken down, which means that the Spanish market has not grown since 2017 (see graph). That year, seven companies were launched and the universe of companies in the continuous market increased from 130 to 134. From now on, the number of listed companies that make it up is 120like last year since Puig joined and Opdenergy withdrew.
The figure could rise if Cox finally closes its offering (the rest as Cirsa either Immediately They are no longer expected before 2025), or even lower if this does not happen and another exclusion occurs before then. It should be recalled that Applus approved at its July meeting a public purchase offer for all of the company’s shares and that it was admitted to processing by the CNMV the same month.
Fix the problem
The industry and certain public bodies such as the stock market controller are very aware of this problem which exists throughout Europe and which has become more serious in Spain. On the IPO side, there is a clear drought; And because of the exclusions, overpriced offers are multiplying and some may no longer be listed. But finding solutions is not easy.
Initiatives have been carried out such as the facilitation of part of the procedures or the establishment of specific channels with the CNMV for requests for information from potential interested parties, in addition to events and information days. Even if, for the moment, this seems insufficient. That same year, more than 30 institutions collaborated to create a White paper 40 pages in which the manager of the Spanish stock exchange, BME, with the support of Deloitte, outlined a total of 56 measures to try to compete on equal terms with other markets and reactivate IPOs in Spain.
