Euronext boss says long-awaited $2 billion CVC debut shows IPO market is back on track

The highly anticipated first deal for private equity group CVC Capital Partners Euronext CEO Stephen Boznah told CNBC on Friday that it was a sign that Europe’s IPO market is back on track.

Around 12:30pm London time, shares of Amsterdam-listed CVC, one of Europe’s biggest buyout firms, rose about 24%.

Shares opened at more than 17 euros ($18.25) per share, above the 14-euro offering price and reaffirming strong investor interest in the company. The IPO is expected to be the largest IPO in Europe this year.

CVC expects to raise 2 billion to 2.3 billion euros from the transaction, the company said in a statement, adding that the IPO was oversubscribed to meet strong demand from global institutional investors.

“This is a strong signal that IPOs are coming back to Europe, particularly continental Europe,” Euronext’s Boznah told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday.

Buznah said the Euronext platform is the largest stock exchange in Europe and one of the largest stock exchanges in the world, and has welcomed 11 stock listings since the beginning of this year.

“This is both a signal of the success of the Euronext platform, a signal of the competitiveness of the Euronext platform and a signal of the return to the IPO market,” he added.

Euronext’s stock exchange office in the La Defense business district in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

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Buena’s comments follow a sharp drop in the number of companies listing on Euronext last year and several high-profile European companies opting to list in the US.

For example, British chip design company Arm went public in New York last year. A post-Brexit vision for Britain to take a hit. And Irish building materials company CRH explained that in September, the company successfully transferred its initial listing to the New York Stock Exchange and was delisted from the Euronext Dublin platform.

Euronext reports that last year, the number of stocks listed on its platform was 64, a significant decrease. It welcomed 83 companies listed in the previous year.

Asked if Euronext was on track to surpass the 64 stocks listed last year, Bugina replied: “I think the worst is over.”

“We have a very active group of EU domestic companies and international companies. Any international company looking to list in Europe is now looking at the Euronext market,” he added.

“Our product pipeline over the next few months is very, very impressive.”