Canada’s IPO market wakes up
After years in a Bay Street coma, Canada’s IPO market appears to have a pulse.
What happened: Apotex, Canada’s largest pharmaceutical company, is planning to go public on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) this year. The potential $1 billion share sale would mark the largest Canadian IPO in five years.
-
If Apotex sounds familiar, it’s because the company’s founder, Barry Sherman, was mysteriously murdered alongside his wife at their Toronto home in 2017 — a case that is still unsolved.
-
Soon after their deaths, the firm was sold to private equity firm SK Capital, which is now taking the drugmaker public.
Big picture: Some analysts believe this is the year Canada’s lacklustre IPO market finally wakes up. A record 42 companies went public on the TSX in 2021, but since then, the exchange has only seen a handful of IPOs a year, many of which have underperformed.
-
This year, big names like Xanadu and General Fusion are slated to go public, while several others, including WestJet, are rumoured to be following suit.
-
BMO’s head of equity capital markets told Reuters that this year’s IPO pipeline is the strongest he’s seen since the record-setting 2021 year.
Why it matters: The IPO market serves as a barometer for how businesses and investors feel about the country’s economy. A flurry of IPOs would be a major vote of confidence in the Canadian market, especially as businesses face pressure to relocate to the U.S.—LA
