After startup exit activity took a nose dive in 2022 amid inflation, rising interest rates, and other macroeconomic forces, some tech analysts are predicting public listing and acquisitions to pick up in the latter half of this year.

The proceeds from Nasdaq and NYSE IPOs – the amount a company fundraises from selling their shares to the public markets – dropped 94% in 2022, from $155.8 billion to $8.6 billion, according to EY’s IPO report published in mid-December.

Not a single company from Washington state went public via IPO in 2022.

Just two companies – cannabis platform Leafly and photo giant Getty Images – went public via a special-purpose acquisition company.

This could push some companies that are already positioned to IPO to take advantage of a window when there is positive investor sentiment, he said.

She said one of the biggest challenges facing exit volume right now is the lag between private company valuations catching up to their public market peers.

Carta, a software company that helps companies organize their cap tables, found that the percentage of companies with reduced valuations in Q3 nearly tripled from 8% to 22%. Saccocia expects these valuation resets to continue to ripple through the private markets, increasing the chance of companies and private equity firms scooping up startups at more favorable price tags.

Source: https://www.geekwire.com/2023/exit-comeback-after-big-slowdown-in-ipo-and-ma-activity-analysts-optimistic-for-a-rebound/