Despite many tumultuous twists and turns, last year was a productive one for global markets, and the companies going public in 2021 benefited.
2021 ipo list.
From highly publicized technology initial public offerings (IPOs) to food and health care, many companies with already large followings went public this year. Some were supposed to go public in 2020 but were postponed because of the pandemic, while others saw an opportunity to take advantage of the strong current market.
This chart shows the 68 companies that went public in 2021, including IPOs, SPACs and direct listings, and their subsequent post-listing valuations.
Who will go public in 2021?
Historically, companies that wanted to go public used one of the main methods: initial public offerings (IPOs).
But companies that go public today readily choose one of three different options, depending on market conditions, associated costs and shareholder preferences:
- Initial Public Offering (IPO): A private company creates new stock that is issued by a financial institution and sold to the public.
- Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC): A separate company without operations is created solely to raise capital to acquire a company that goes public. SPAC is the fastest way to go public and has become popular in recent years .
- Direct listing: A private company goes public only with existing, outstanding shares and without creating new shares. The cost is lower than for an IPO because there is no underwriting fee.
Most companies going public in 2021 chose the IPO route, but some of the highest valuations came from a direct listing.
While there are many big names on the list, one of the biggest crossroads is still the importance of technology.
Most of the new public companies of 2021 were technology-related, including many mobile apps, websites and online services. Two of the biggest IPOs so far were South Korea’s Coupang, an online marketplace with a post-IPO valuation of $60 billion , and China’s Didi Chuxing, a cab ordering app with a post-IPO largest valuation of $73 billion this year .
In addition, many apps and services have gone public in other ways. Gaming company Roblox went public through a direct listing, earning a valuation of $30 billion , and cryptocurrency platform Coinbase earned its biggest valuation of the year with a valuation of $86 billion after a direct listing.
Major companies will go public in 2022
Like every year, some of the biggest companies going public have been scheduled for the second half of the year .Stripe, a payment processing company, had planned its biggest IPO of the year with an estimated valuation of $95 billion , but it was postponed. Similarly, online grocery delivery platform InstaCart, whose popularity has surged because of the pandemic, expects to go public with a valuation of at least $39 billion .
Of course, potential public listings and offerings often fail. Whether they are delayed by bad market conditions or canceled at the last minute, anything can happen when it comes to public markets.
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