Q2 2018 Canadian IPO Market Review

In Canada, IPO activity in Q2 increased as compared to the prior quarter in terms of IPOs completed. As market volatility from mid-February continued to ease and the results from the Ontario provincial elections were finalized, five issuers hit the market in the second quarter. Nevertheless, there remains a meaningful backlog of Canadian companies that are getting ready to access markets as we enter the traditionally busy fall IPO window. Additionally, given the higher energy price environment, we expect energy issuers and sponsors to continue to closely monitor the equity markets and the viability of going public.

While the equity markets are expected to remain generally constructive for the remainder of 2018 in terms of new issuance activity, the ongoing trade wars and tariff escalation are expected to act as an overhang on the global economic outlook with uncertainty with respect to the impact these actions will have on corporate earnings. Nevertheless, issuers and financial sponsors are expected to remain optimistic about the back half of 2018 for IPOs and monitor the equity markets closely.

Read about the key themes and observations in our report.