(Bloomberg) — Initial public offerings in Israel are weathering the market turbulence better than many European venues, as its equity benchmark dodges the worst of a global selloff.
Six IPOs have raised $383 million on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange this year, according to data from the bourse. That’s a better showing than more established European markets like Germany, France and Sweden, where the war in Ukraine and worries about inflation have scuppered listing plans.
Israel has sidestepped much of the recent geopolitical and economic turmoil. Its stock benchmark, classified as a developed market, has outperformed both the European gauge and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in 2022. But while Tel Aviv is coming off a record 2021 for IPOs, issuance is likely to be slower this year.
“We still see IPOs in our market, but obviously not at the same rate of 2021,” said Ittai Ben-Zeev, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s chief executive officer. “The market is more selective.”
In recent years, Tel Aviv’s bourse has stepped up efforts to attract more listings through stock-market reforms like allowing companies to file in English and expanding dual-listing agreements.
Still, the vast majority of Israel’s biggest IPOs are bypassing Tel Aviv to go public in New York instead. Uber Technologies Inc. rival Via Transportation has filed to go public on the Nasdaq, while clothing maker Delta Galil is said to target a secondary listing in the U.S.
Game developer Playtika Holding Corp. and fraud-management platform Riskified Ltd. were among the record $6.4 billion worth of IPOs by Israeli companies in the U.S. last year. Many of these stocks have been hit by a shift away from pricey growth assets over concerns of monetary policy tightening, with Riskified sinking 70% since listing.
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