Europe's tech unicorns look to repeat US IPO successes in 2021 - Business Insider

The blew away the high-water mark of $224 billion that was set in 2019, according to PitchBook data.The US has attracted the bulk of the listing action, with a record $81 billion of initial public offering (IPO) proceeds this year so far, based on Refinitiv data cited by Reuters."Fiscal and monetary stimulus due to Covid-19 made cash effectively free, and meant the world could no longer look at valuation models, so they looked to growth," Per Roman, managing partner at GP Bullhound, told Business Insider. Companies aiming to list in London currently must have a minimum of 25% of shares available for trading, which makes it more difficult for owners to maintain control.However, a bumper 2020 has returned some luster to London, according to Barry Meyers, head of UK, Ireland and SSA ECM at JP Morgan, who led e-commerce giant The Hut Group's giant IPO in September, the index's largest since 2015."The UK market has been perceived to be more attractive since THG's float and it's recognised that there isn't really a valuation difference between the US and London for the highest-quality tech businesses," he said.European indices could also be a major beneficiary of local listings, given an increased maturity of both the analyst and investor base for tech companies on the continent.Investors cite Dutch payments processor Adyen as a recent example.