Hunton Retail Law Resource

Despite the uncertainty of 2020, initial public offerings (IPOs) in the US set records in 2020, recording 407 IPOs that raised a total of $145 billion.  The 2020 IPO boom more than doubled the 195 IPOs recorded in 2019 that raised a total of $56 billion. Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), which made up 230 IPOs, influenced the bulk of the IPO activity in 2020.  Although most of the SPACs have not yet completed their mergers, the completed SPAC mergers in 2020 showed a 41 percent return.  Excluding SPACs, traditional IPOs raised $83 billion across 203 issuers, again representing the strongest IPO market in two decades.

Corporate executives are optimistic about M&A activity in 2021, with 53% of U.S. CEOs in a recent PwC survey stating that their companies planned to increase M&A activity in the coming year. Despite the economic challenges faced in 2020, in large part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, other factors, such as record low interest rates and significant amounts of corporate cash reserves and private equity capital, mean that some strategic and private equity buyers are in a strong position to engage in deal making.