Of the 24 IPOs in the first quarter of 2020, eight were backed by private equity firms. These deals raised $4.6 billion, a $4.3 billion jump in proceeds from the 1Q19. The financial sector led PE-backed activity with three IPOs, with additional activity from healthcare, industrials, tech, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples. While no firm served as the lead investor on more than one deal this quarter, Hellman & Friedman, BC Partners, and Rank Group appeared as the lead backers of the quarter’s largest IPOs.
Hellman & Friedman was the lead investor on contract researcher PPD’s (PPD) return to the public market. In 2011, the company was taken private for $3.9 billion by Hellman & Friedman and the Carlyle Group. At its IPO, PPD’s enterprise value was $13.4 billion.
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