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European private equity group CVC Capital Partners has postponed its IPO plans until next year due to market turmoil, say two people with direct knowledge of the decision.
The delay in CVC’s plans to go public in Amsterdam extends a two-year saga over whether the company will follow its rivals into public markets. CVC previously postponed its IPO following Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
Poor earnings results from listed rivals EQT and Blackstone in recent weeks, uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East and worries about the state of the broader economy all contributed to the decision to postpone the IPO, the people said.
“You can’t defy gravity,” one of the people said. “The market conditions are not there.”
The decision was made on Wednesday after a meeting of the company’s management. Investment bankers involved in the deal, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, have also been informed, the people added.
The new IPO postponement is a major blow to the company, which manages assets worth 161 billion euros, as it tries to keep up with rivals such as EQT, which used the proceeds from its own listing to expand through acquisitions.
Although bankers were optimistic that the IPO window could reopen, new offerings in Europe so far this year remain at their lowest level since the financial crisis.
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Companies such as French software group Planisware and German military contractor Renk have postponed their IPO plans in recent weeks, citing a difficult market environment. In the US, shares of chip designer Arm, German sandal maker Birkenstock and technology group Instacart have fallen since their stock market listings this year.
Private equity fund managers have come under pressure as higher interest rates hurt company valuations and made exiting investments and returning capital to investors more difficult.
In preparation for a public listing, CVC has sought to increase and diversify assets under management in infrastructure and secondaries.
This strategy is modeled after larger U.S. rivals like Blackstone and KKR, which have moved away from their leveraged buyout roots over the past decade.
In 2021, CVC acquired Glendower Capital, a company specializing in the purchase of private equity fund shares. The company acquired a majority stake in Dutch infrastructure investor DIF Capital Partners this year, worth around €1 billion. Additionally, the investment group has increased its assets under management in credit, a fast-growing asset class.
CVC remains committed to going public in the near future if market conditions improve, one of the people familiar with the matter said.