A Bear Market for IPOs

Justin Fox reckons that the present financial crisis can’t be all that bad if it’s coinciding with the biggest IPO in US history – especially when that IPO (Visa) is a financial one. It’s a good point, but it’s also worth noting that Visa’s owners are capital-constrained banks who really need the proceeds right now, and might not otherwise be trying to IPO into a bear market. IPO cancellations have already hit $21 billion this year, compared to total IPO proceeds year-to-date of just $12.2 billion. Those figures look pretty bearish to me.