The IPO market saw 23 companies complete their offerings in November, one more than in October and 10 more than in November 2018. The strong month was not enough for 2019 to catch last year in total IPO output, however. Through the end of November, 207 new issues have been completed this year, compared to 225 at this point in 2018. The month ended with just one deal in the holiday week. Alussa Energy Acquisition raised $250 million to pursue a target involved in the development of oil and gas wells and related infrastructure. Alussa was the second Cayman Islands-headquartered new issuer of 2019.
New registrants. The week’s activity included two new registrations, one of which was filed by Healthcare Merger. The blank checks company is looking to acquire a target in the healthcare industry. The company’s CEO is the chairman of Magellan Health, where he previously served as CEO for six years. The other preliminary filer was Muscle Maker, the operator of a chain of fast casual restaurants in 14 states and Kuwait. The company, which recently reincorporated from California to Nevada, hopes to raise $59 million through the offering. Only one SIC 5810 company (Retail Eating & Drinking Places) has completed an IPO in the U.S. in the past two years. The pace of new registrations slowed in November with 16 filings, compared to 30 in October. From January through November, 257 companies filed preliminary registrations this year, five more than in the same period last year.
Withdrawals. November ended without a withdrawal in its final week, leaving the monthly total at five. That is three more than in October and in November 2018. The 45 Forms RW filed through the end of November are nine more than the 34 withdrawals in the first 11 months of 2018.
The information reported here is gathered using IPO Vital Signs, a Wolters Kluwer Regulatory U.S. database that includes all SEC registered IPOs, including REITs and those non-U.S. IPO filers seeking to list in the U.S. markets. IPO Vital Signs does not track closed-end funds, best efforts or non-underwritten deals, or IPO offerings for amounts less than $5 million.