I-Bankers Mixed on IPO Outlook, Overwhelmingly Favor Romney For IPO Market

BDO USA, LLP, releases investment banker studies around the IPO market and the rest of 2012 is looking extremely mixed in the latest survey.  Capital markets executives at leading investment banks were asked to forecast U.S. initial public offerings  during the remainder of 2012 and the bankers are very divided.

Those predicting an increase in IPOs were 33%, those who were expecting IPOs to be flat for the remainder of 2012 were 36% and those who see contraction came to 31%.

Banker sentiment suggests that there may be virtually no net change (0.2%), with the latter half of 2012 matching the first half in the number of U.S. IPOs.  The average IPO size is expected to be $221 million in size and this should come to over $43 billion in total IPO proceeds on U.S. exchanges in 2012.

The most common issue facing the markets is said to be global political and financial instability at 59% of respondent reports.  The uncertainty of the presidential election was cited as 20% of the pressure, and 9% put the risk of government spending cuts in there.

Some 72% of the capital markets community respondents believe that Mitt Romney would be better for the IPO markets than President Obama.  Obama got the vote by 15% of respondents while the ‘no preference’ camp was 12%. With Romney’s private equity background these results are likely not surprising at all.

JON C. OGG