NYSE Euronext, a leading global operator of financial markets, said it had raised a record $17.1 billion in total global proceeds from initial public offerings (IPO) in the first half of 2012.

In the US, NYSE Euronext listed 62 per cent of all IPOs bringing 56 new IPOs to the US market, recently ending the quarter with the successful listing of ServiceNow.

Additionally in the US, NYSE gained eight listing transfers. In Europe, NYSE Euronext had 16 new listings, with approximately €1.2 billion in proceeds.

'Despite global business, economic and political uncertainty in the first half of 2012, we completed a significant number of IPO capital market transactions,' said Scott Cutler, the EVP, head of Global Listings at NYSE Euronext.

'We saw fewer debuts of large IPOs than in the first half of 2011, but emerging growth companies from technology, financial services and energy were the most active sectors,' he noted.

'If volatility remains low and economic contagion remains controlled, we expect selective IPO open windows to persist through the second half. Our biggest concerns remain trust, transparency and accountability in our public markets,' said Cutler.

'We achieved significant milestones in the first half of the year supporting entrepreneurship, innovation and job growth,' he added.

In the first half, NYSE Euronext listed 53 per cent of the technology IPOs in the US, bringing 16 new IPOs to the market, including the recent IPO of ServiceNow.

The bourse’s continued support of the success of these emerging growth companies is reflected in the fact that leading technology companies continue to list on the exchange.

NYSE Euronext’s global venues continued to attract leading companies from around the world in the first half.

In Europe, Groupe Eurotunnel announced that it will become the first company to be admitted to trading on NYSE Euronext London, BTG Pactual, Brazil’s largest investment bank, listed on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam and Solvay, a leading global player in chemicals completed a secondary listing on NYSE Euronext in Paris.

In the US, global industry leaders such as AVG Technologies from Czech Republic, Cementos Pacasmayo from Peru and Cencosud from Chile, all listed on NYSE.
 
“Issuers around the world increasingly list on NYSE Euronext because they value the quality of execution and access to the largest pool of capital,” said Cutler.

“Issuers, investors and the trading community have relied on our unique high-touch, high-tech model for years. We appreciate the choice existing and new issuers are making to list on our marketplace and we continue to look for opportunities to unlock the potential of our community, the largest b2b network in the world, for our partners,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service