According to global deal tracking firm Dealogic, the "global IPO volume stands at $1.6 billion via 53 deals in 2009 compared to the $37.3 billion raised via 255 deals in 2008 YTD".
There was very little activity in the United States and the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region, while there was no activity at all in the European region.
Some of the firms braving the weak primary market include US software firm Rosetta Stone, which will raise $115 million in an IPO, while Vodafone Qatar is expected to price its IPO this month for raising $952 million.
Apart from them, there were no IPOs by European issuers since Resolution Ltd raised USD 970 million via Bank of America–Merrill Lynch, Citi and HSBC on December 5, 2008, Dealogic added.
Recently, Bridgepoint Education (BPI) raised $141.8 million at $10.50 per share. The offering was priced below the initial range of $14-16 per share.