Home Co IPO delivers, GQG Partners considering listing

The Australian IPO market is again heating up, with a handful of new listings hitting the bourse this week, many taking the opportunity to raise capital following the pandemic. According to the HLB Mann Judd IPO report, there were 74 IPOs in 2020, raising a total of $4.9 billion.

The first half of 2021 has seen 61 IPOs raising $2.9 billion, with another 42 ($1.25 billion) scheduled for the rest of the year.  The main sector where raisings are taking place is in materials, with 26 small-cap listings.

Here are the most recent listings:

• TEK-Ocean Group (ASX:T3K)- Shares closed down 10 per cent. The company provides engineering and project management, logistics as well as decommissioning and rehabilitation services. It raised $6.6m at 50c.
• Home Consortium’s Healthcare and Wellness REIT (ASX:HMC) – Shares closed the first day of trade up 16 per cent on its first day of trading. It’s Australia’s first pure-play healthcare property trust, offering exposure to assets that will have increased in value during the pandemic. Shares closed at $2.32 up from a $2 listing raising $650m.
• Rubicon Water (ASX:RWL) – Listed on the 2^nd September, shares rising 55 per cent to $1.70 from $1.00, raising $42.6m. RWL uses irrigation automation technology that helps with water efficiency for farmers.
• Best & Less Group Holdings (ASX:BST) – Listed back in July but is worthy of a mention. The clothes retailer is up more than 17 per cent at $2.81. BST reported revenue growth of 6% over FY20 to $663.2 million.
• Zoom2u (ASX:Z2U) – Is an Australian-owned delivery platform that connects its customers with local independent couriers in the same area for fast same-day delivery. For example, a customer can sign up and send flowers within a matter of seconds.
• Kuniko (ASX:KNI) – Is another IPO that is worth a mention. The miner is a spin-off Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX:VUL), mineral exploration with interests in the development of non-lithium battery metals. It mines cobalt, nickel and copper. Shares have traded from 76c to a high of $3.60 and are trading at $2.05.
• GQGPartners – Is considering listing on the ASX in a deal that will be closely watched by the market. According to the Australian Financial Review, the IPO is slated for the December quarter. In total, the manager operates four global equities investment strategies with FUM of around $116 billion, on behalf of clients such as AustalianSuper, Rest Super and Cbus. It will be a likely rival to Magellan, which is of similar size. UBS and Goldman Sachs have kicked off their pitch, both vying for the year’s biggest initial public offering. It’s still early days, so no concrete numbers have been released, but estimates on value are north of $5.7 billion.

Ishan Dan

Ishan is an experienced journalist covering The Inside Investor and The Insider Adviser publications.