{"text":[[{"start":12.7,"text":"Wall Street initial public offerings have slowed to a trickle as tepid investor demand for new deals and worries about high valuations weigh on what was tipped to be a bumper quarter of new listings. "}],[{"start":24.049999999999997,"text":"Petrol station empire EG Group, nuclear energy group Holtec, smart ring start-up Oura and data centre company SB Energy have in recent weeks all hit pause on plans to list in the US. Bamboo Insurance postponed its IPO last month."}],[{"start":40.349999999999994,"text":"A delay in two highly anticipated Wall Street debuts has also darkened sentiment in US equity capital markets. Anthropic, whose backers hope it to list at a valuation above $2tn, is expected to go public in mid-November after the US midterm elections, later than previously expected. Rival OpenAI has pushed its blockbuster IPO into next year. "}],[{"start":62.05,"text":"“Right now no one cares about anything that isn’t Anthropic. Investors aren’t excited about these other companies,” said the head of equity capital markets at a large US asset manager. "}],[{"start":72.89999999999999,"text":"Investment bankers have enjoyed a roaring year, thanks largely to SpaceX’s IPO in June, which raised a record $86bn, and a burst of debt offerings by Silicon Valley tech groups seeking to finance massive spending on data centres. "}],[{"start":89.44999999999999,"text":"But the IPO market has dried up in recent weeks as worries about a downturn in the AI sector and the public’s opposition to data centres have come to the fore. "}],[{"start":98.49999999999999,"text":"Many of the smaller IPOs have been postponed owing to investors’ growing scepticism about the “tone deaf” valuations assigned to companies connected to the AI investment boom, the banker added. SoftBank-backed SB Energy is targeting a valuation of about $50bn despite not bringing a single facility online."}],[{"start":119.04999999999998,"text":"Tech listings this year have on average fallen about 23 per cent since their first day of trading, according to BCA Research, compounding worries that banks are overpricing deals to win mandates. Some of this year’s biggest IPOs, including SpaceX’s listing, surged on their market debut before giving up those gains over subsequent weeks. "}],[{"start":139.89999999999998,"text":"“The market is getting a lot smarter to these deals,” said an investor at a UK boutique bank. “Shares trade higher for a day then bleed out. [The IPOs] are massively oversubscribed by fast money playing these first-day pops.”"}],[{"start":154.89999999999998,"text":"Early backers of companies including SpaceX are meanwhile sitting on huge paper gains. "}],[{"start":160.84999999999997,"text":"“New investors know they’re getting a raw deal, all the gains are for the private holders,” said a former ECM banker."}],[{"start":167.29999999999995,"text":"Volatile oil prices and a global government debt sell-off have deepened a sense of caution in the market that may also derail a pair of IPOs in the hospitality sector in the US and Europe. "}],[{"start":179.44999999999996,"text":"Ennismore, the boutique hotel venture backed by France’s Accor, has been discussing a plan to go public in New York as soon as this year. The shift in market sentiment may lead to that timeline being extended, according to people familiar with the matter who stressed that no final decision had been made. Accor and Ennismore declined to comment. "}],[{"start":198.89999999999995,"text":"Hotel Investment Partners, a Spanish leisure group acquired by Blackstone in 2017, has been discussing an IPO for this year in Spain that could value the company at more than €6bn. Market uncertainty means those plans, too, could yet change, people familiar with the matter said. Blackstone and HIP declined to comment."}],[{"start":216.34999999999994,"text":"Petrol forecourt giant EG Group, trading as its Cumberland Farms brand, had hoped to raise about $1bn at a $9bn valuation in New York listing this autumn. "}],[{"start":228.04999999999993,"text":"The plans were this week pushed into 2027 while the company has also received early-stage interest from bidders including infrastructure investor Stonepeak. "}],[{"start":237.79999999999993,"text":"One person close to the business also blamed energy price volatility caused by the war in Iran. Other companies pointing to market turbulence for their change of plans may not have such a strong case. "}],[{"start":249.44999999999993,"text":"Wall Street’s S&P 500 remains close to its record high despite large price moves in bonds and commodities, with the Vix index of short-term US equity market volatility subdued. Capital markets bankers typically push for companies to list when the Vix is low. "}],[{"start":265.1499999999999,"text":"In Asia, AS Watson, part of the CK Hutchison conglomerate, has pushed its $30bn dual listing in London and Hong Kong into next year."}],[{"start":274.49999999999994,"text":"The health and beauty retail group whose brands include British chains Superdrug and Savers as well as Rossmann in Germany had been planning to raise about $2bn in a flotation that would have allowed Singapore’s Temasek to offload its stake. Three people close to the situation said the listing was being held up because of regulatory complications in Asia. "}],[{"start":296.74999999999994,"text":"The business has secured approval from China’s securities regulator but is still awaiting clearance from the country’s cyber security regulator, according to the same people. The company declined to comment."}],[{"start":307.29999999999995,"text":"In the UK, Elliott-owned book retailer Waterstones and travel group Loveholidays have also delayed their listings. “All the names we had for 2026 are being pushed back into 2027,” one banker said. "}],[{"start":321.69999999999993,"text":"Nigeria’s Dangote Cement is the only other large London IPO anticipated this year."}],[{"start":328.3999999999999,"text":"Additional reporting by Adrienne Klasa in Paris "}],[{"start":338.6499999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1791100028_5863.mp3"}