Europe's market for intitial public offers (IPO) boomed in the second quarter with 95 companies debuting on
European bourses compared with only 23 in the same period last year, according to the results of a study from auditors PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Zurich.
The total value of stock put on European share markets reached €8.7 billion in the second quarter, five times more than in the same quarter in 2003, the study found. The total was also 67.3% more than the first quarter of 2004.
Three IPOs made up nearly half of the total volume. The biggest operation was the flotation of Postbank in Germany at €1.4 billion, followed by the Italian electricity firm Terna at €1.3 billion and the French aircraft engine-maker Snecma at €1.2 billion.
The London Stock Exchange was the hottest place for IPOs, accounting for 68% of the total in Europe with 65 flotations. The value of shares floated on the LSE reached €2.5 billion in the second quarter compared with €767m a year earlier.
Euronext, which consists of the Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon and Paris stock exchanges, was the second biggest market for IPOs with 10, which was three times more than a year earlier.
