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US IPO Weekly Recap: Small deals drive activity in the IPO market's short week

April 6, 2023
Weekly Recap

Four small issuers began trading this past week, three of which are eligible for inclusion in our IPO stats. One small deal postponed (VCIG), and a few others delayed (UCAR, GDHG, GMM).

Ispire Technology (ISPR) downsized and priced at the midpoint to raise $19 million at a $369 million market cap. Formed to acquire certain businesses of Chinese vaping brand and failed IPO candidate Aspire Global (ASPG), Ispire sells its tobacco products worldwide, excluding China and Russia. It currently sources 99% of its products from an entity owned by the CEO, though it plans to use a portion of IPO proceeds to build out manufacturing in Vietnam and California. Ispire finished up 1%.

Singapore-based Multi Ways Group (MWG) upsized and priced at the midpoint to raise $18 million at a $77 million market cap. Multi Ways supplies a wide range of heavy construction equipment to more than 100 customers across various industries and countries. Profitable and growing, its top five customers accounted for nearly half of 1H22 revenue. Multi Ways soared more than 250% on its first day, the first IPO to do so in 2023, but deflated in the aftermarket to finish up 126%.

Malaysian IoT provider ARB IOT Group (ARBB) priced at the low end to raise $5 million at a $105 million market cap. Fast growing and profitable, the company is focused on IoT growth in the ASEAN region, and generates a majority of revenue from IoT system development and IoT smart agriculture. ARB IOT Group finished down 2%.

While not included below, paper packaging producer Millennium Group International Holdings (MGIH) raised $5 million at a $45 million market cap. Millennium Group finished down 38%.

3 IPOs During the Week of April 3rd, 2023
Issuer
Business
Deal
Size
Market Cap
at IPO
Price vs.
Midpoint
First Day
Return
Return
at 04/07
Multi Ways Holdings (MWG)$18M$77M0%+255%+126%
Singapore-based supplier of heavy construction equipment.
Ispire Technology (ISPR)$19M$369M0%+8%+1%
Sells branded tobacco and cannabis vape devices primarily in the US and Europe.
ARB IOT Group (ARBB)$5M$105M-20%-4%-2%
Provides IoT system integration and support services in the ASEAN region.

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Two small IPOs submitted initial filings. US-based semiconductor play Guerrilla RF (GUER) filed for a $15 million Nasdaq uplisting, and Singapore-based robotic cleaning equipment provider SIMPPLE (SPPL) filed to raise $9 million. In other pipeline news, Goldman’s MN8 Energy (MNX) disclosed updated financials ahead of its $100 million IPO.

3 Filings During the Week of April 3rd, 2023
Issuer
Business
Deal
Size
SectorLead
Underwriter
Inflection Point Acq. II (IPXXU)$200MSPACCantor Fitz.
Second blank check company formed by Kingstown Capital targeting disruptive growth sectors.
Guerrilla RF (GUER)$15MTechnologyLaidlaw (UK)
US-based fabless semiconductor provider for radio frequency applications.
SIMPPLE (SPPL)$9MTechnologyMaxim
Provides industrial robotic cleaning equipment in Singapore.

Sign up for a free trial of our premium platform, IPO Pro. Follow us on Twitter (@IPOtweet) and register for our updates on the IPO market.

This past week, we released our report on how the Big Four accounting firms ranked in the 1Q23 IPO market, and also updated our review of the 1Q23 US IPO market.

IPO Market Snapshot
The Renaissance IPO Indices are market cap weighted baskets of newly public companies. As of 4/5/2023, the Renaissance IPO Index was up 13.4% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 was up 7.0%. Renaissance Capital's IPO ETF (NYSE: IPO) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Snowflake (SNOW) and Airbnb (ABNB). The Renaissance International IPO Index was down 2.7% year-to-date, while the ACWX was up 7.4%. Renaissance Capital’s International IPO ETF (NYSE: IPOS) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Porsche and Kuaishou.