Although Canadian technology companies continue to be funded and see exits as their businesses are acquired, PCW reports that the Initial Public Offering (IPO) market for first quart of 2012 has hit a new low compared to recent years. According to their press release:
Without a single IPO on the TSX, the total new capital raised on Canadian exchanges struggled to top $20 million from 13 new issues in the first quarter of 2012, according to a survey published by PwC. It is the third lowest total for any quarter in the past decade. Only the fourth quarter of 2008 ($2 million) and the first quarter of 2009 ($2.5 million) had lower total proceeds.
“The first quarter 2012 results were an extension of the low levels of activity in the final quarter of 2011 when markets were weighed down by the European debt crisis and extreme market volatility,” says Dean Braunsteiner, PwC national IPO services leader. A single $25 million issue on the TSX in the fourth quarter and a reduction in activity on the TSX Venture exchange generated just $52 million from 10 new issues on all Canadian exchanges in the final three months of 2011.
First quarter 2012 IPO results were 10% of the same period of 2011, when 13 new issues, including two on the TSX, generated more than $198 million.
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