NEW YORK/AMSTERDAM: NYSE Euronext (NYX) led the global market for listing initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first half of 2011 with $25.40 billion in total capital raised on its European and US markets, more than any exchange group in the world. During the most recent quarter, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) led the US IPO market, with 35 IPOs raising $10.63 billion, or 73 percent of total proceeds raised from IPOs in the US Furthermore, this added to NYSE's recent gains in listing of technology and VC-backed IPOs as well as private equity funds and enterprises from Argentina, Canada, China, France, Greece, Korea and Netherlands, underscoring the NYSE as the leading listing venue for global IPOs. "We have seen IPOs coming from every sector, every region of the globe, and all types and sizes of companies including high-growth, technology and VC-backed enterprises," said Scott Cutler, co-head of US Listings and Cash Execution, NYSE Euronext. "It's a healthy pipeline despite the continuing economic uncertainty. The issuer community is attracted to our global brand, network and technology platform, and looks to us as a true partner in driving value. In the months ahead, we expect to see new listings from quite a broad-based representation of sectors." The number of IPOs backed by venture capital and private equity funds listed on the NYSE has significantly increased, including LinkedIn, Freescale Semiconductor, Bankrate, and Vanguard Health Systems. On May 18, LinkedIn IPO became the biggest Internet IPO since Google Inc.'s debut in 2004. The NYSE has welcomed 5 transfers from Nasdaq with total market capitalization of $4.01 billion thus far in 2011, and lost none. In addition, SuccessFactors Inc. announced it will transfer its listing from Nasdaq to the NYSE and cross-list on the European markets of NYSE Euronext. This follows the active trend for transfers, with 40 companies transferred to the NYSE from Nasdaq since 2007. NYSE has steadily captured share in attracting technology-based IPOs with its commitment to partner with growth companies. NYSE has listed 17 out of 31, or 55 percent of the tech IPOs YTD, up from 44 percent in 2010. LinkedIn, Active Network, Fusion-io and Pandora's offering came amid a recent fervor for high-profile tech IPOs. Shares of Pandora, the online radio service provider, opened at $20 each, up from an offering price of $16, raising $235 million as the company met the latest wave of interest in Internet-related businesses. With a record of 22 Chinese IPOs last year, the NYSE maintains its leading position in attracting Chinese listings this year with 5 Chinese IPOs raising $742.86 million in the second quarter. Almost half of the IPOs from China YTD come from the TMT sector (Technology, Media and Telecommunications). Qihoo 360 Technology, which offers a safe web browser and other Internet security products in China, soared 134 percent in its trading debut on March 29, making it the third best first day gain for a US listed IPO in the last 10 years. Renren Inc., one of the biggest social networking companies in China, became the first social networking service (SNS) company to get listed on the US market on May 4. During the first 6 months of 2011, NYSE Euronext's European market continued to welcome small and medium enterprises (SME) listings. Out of 29 new listings, 24 are SMEs from different countries of origin and business sectors, raising €58 million.
