| General Motors IPO |
| Size: |
$23.1 billion ($18.1 billion common stock, $5 billion mandatory convertible preferred offering) |
| Date: |
November 13 |
| Lead bookrunners: |
Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan |
|
The year had been billed from the outset as one in which private equity sponsors and governments would realize assets by returning them to public stock market ownership. Yet many new issues in the US and Europe underperformed in the aftermarket, trading below issue price. And almost every week brought news of more cancellations of initial offerings scheduled in the US and international markets, with the markets all but closed for long stretches in the first two months of the year and in the early summer.
Then, when the IPO market did open, it did so in spades. Three of the 10 biggest IPOs in history took place last year. Agricultural Bank of China’s $22.1 billion IPO was the biggest ever and AIA’s $20.5 billion sale the second largest. The final quarter of 2010 was the second busiest ever for IPOs, with most of the $126 billion of new flotations crammed into two highest volume months on record for global IPOs in October and November, according to Dealogic.
