In the final stretch of the year, two companies have taken the step to go public. Europastry, the Catalan leader in bread, croissants, and other bakery products owned by the Gallés family, will ring the opening bell in Barcelona this Thursday with an estimated valuation of 1.5 billion euros. In addition, Cox, based in Alicante, has announced plans to list on the Mercado Continuo with a subsidiary next month, aiming to raise 300 million. Enrique Riquelme, the chairman of the energy group, values the firm at about 1.2 billion euros. These two groups, alongside Puig, are set to be remembered as the standout IPOs of 2024, a year seen as a catalyst to unblock a slow IPO pipeline, though analysts note that the fall in interest rates and the appetite for fixed income have cooled what otherwise could have been a larger wave of listings. North American investors watching European markets may note that rate dynamics and bond demand have a meaningful influence on deal flow, even across the Atlantic.
Numerous companies announced ambitious stock market debuts in 2024, including Tendam, Cirsa, and Astara, yet the expectation that money rates would ease next year and a pivot toward bonds capped IPO activity. According to market analyst Javier Cabrera, the current context suggests many firms may delay their public exits until 2025. He notes that the market has already priced in several rate cuts at upcoming European Central Bank meetings, a view shared by many North American observers monitoring European IPO dynamics.
For investors, this year may have felt disappointing. Each year there is talk of at least five or six firms ready to jump to the market. Yet, from an objective standpoint, that level of optimism is rarely sustained. Rates have lingered at the highs seen in recent decades, and inflation clarity remained elusive. In such a climate, a company entering the market faced the challenge of achieving the desired valuation as investors demanded higher yields on these kinds of investments in a high-rate environment, explains Javier Cabrera, a market analyst.
It is worth noting Puig, the year’s first IPO, which experienced a stumble in its early results as a listed company. It cut its six-month profit by 27 percent to 154 million euros due to the costs associated with going public, the company disclosed in its results presentation as a listed firm. The group debuted on the market on May 3 at 24.5 euros per share and joined the IBEX on July 22. Since the debut, Puig’s shares have fallen by more than 17 percent and are currently trading near 20 euros.
Expectations for 2025
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One of the companies that has already signaled its intention to attempt another jump to the stock market is Cirsa, though it has clarified that the move would come in the first half of 2025. Other groups such as Tendam, Astara, Cosentino, Volotea, or Ibercaja have also explored listing plans, but it seems unlikely that there will be many new entrants in the remainder of the year. Juan José Fernández-Figares, an analyst at Link Securities, says the current situation appears somewhat better than in other years and represents encouraging news for a market that has shed many companies from the list in the past year.
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The same analyst references firms that have been excluded from trading after acquisitions in recent years. He points to others that might follow a similar path, such as Grifols, Lars, or Talgo. He adds that more companies leave the continuous market than enter it. In BME Growth there is slightly more activity, though those companies are small and receive little coverage, Fernández-Figares concludes.