European equity capital raising had an exceptionally strong year in 2021, with issuance totalling €226bn — an increase of 29% from 2020 and 94% from 2019, when there was €176bn and €116bn of supply, respectively, according to the Association for Financial Markets in Europe’s (AFME) 2021 Equity Primary Markets and Trading Report, citing data from Dealogic.
Last year marked the highest annual issuance in the European equity market since 2015, when there was €239bn of supply. The surge in supply was driven by a robust year for initial public offerings (IPOs), with volumes reaching their highest since 2007 at €69bn. Private-equity exits via IPOs represented 35% of the year’s total IPO issuance, with a record high of private equity-backed IPOs.
