IPOs – Will fever in the US spread over here?

Ah those Americans. The 200-year-old upstarts are still intent on showing us staid Old World-ers what’s hip with the kids, from space travel to Viagra to working out how to actually make money from the internet. Business has long looked to the United States for tips on how to run itself, be that how to franchise, brand, or sell coffee back to the Italians and, now that the global economic slowdown of recent years is waning, wallets are facing east again. After three years of being happy just to break even, or not be forced to sell-out entirely, entrepreneurs and private equity backers are starting to pass the Mercedes showrooms with a bit more hope. The dot com boom and bust made the business community wary of attempting to profit from the stock markets, and with good cause when peaks and troughs can be bought about by vagaries such as the bags under Tony Blair’s eyes and England’s score in the Test. However, Google’s successful IPO has raised spirits and bought about a renewal of faith that has once again blocked out the memories of Depression-era traders diving to their deaths on Wall Street. July saw Domino’s Pizza and McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants launch their IPOs. Both companies debuted at lower-than-forecast prices, but both have since risen and are hoping to ride up on a recovering market wave. Both companies used their IPOs principally to raise money to repay debt, putting themselves in position to benefit from the burgeoning upturn in the industry and marking a more mature approach to the market rather than using it as a get-rich-quick scheme. Rumours are rife in the US that they will be followed into the public eye by Atkins Nutritionals and Hyatt. An endorsement of the market by two such major players should be enough to give us Europeans pause, concerns about Atkins starting to pass its sell-by date notwithstanding. Hyatt’s IPO has long been mooted, with the Pritzker family thought to have reached agreement on how best to split up their estimated $15bn empire. The private equity purchase of Atkins last year and subsequent attempts to reposition it as a healthy, rather than meat-heavy option, are seen as proof that an offering is also imminent. The stock markets in the US are recovering from the impact of terrorism, Sars, global belt-tightening, war in Iraq and even seem steady ahead of November’s election. If the adage that when America sneezes Europe catches a cold holds true, it could be time of pass out the Vicks over here.