In a sign that the U.S. IPO market might be turning a corner after a months-long drought, shares of Excelerate Energy rose sharply in their market debut on Wednesday.
The Texas-based company, founded by oil tycoon George Kaiser, raised an impressive $384 million in an offering led by Barclays, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “EE,” Excelerate’s stock opened at $28.20 a share after being priced at $24, and was hovering at around $27 by midday. The strong debut comes as companies in the United States and around the world have been delaying IPOs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Even before the invasion, 2022 had seen a significant slowdown in companies going public after last year’s record boom, which was driven in part by the controversial use of SPACs. Some of the buzziest companies that came to market through SPAC mergers in 2021—Clover Health, SoFi, and Grab, to name a few—are now trading well below their debut share price. Others that went the more traditional IPO route—Bumble, Rivian, Coinbase, among others—have cooled off after strong debuts last year.
Excelerate Energy is far from what you’d consider a glamorous startup. Founded in 2003, the company operates giant terminals to access liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Last year, the company reported net income of $41.2 million on revenue of $888.6 million, which is a far cry from some of the loss-making tech firms that made their way to public markets recently.
Whether Wednesday’s IPO marks a turning point in the market or just a random blip remains to be seen, but either way, investors will surely welcome the unexpected boost of energy.
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