(Bloomberg) — European and Asian firms may soon flood the US market with new listings, as the allure of loftier valuations and deeper liquidity fuels an exodus from their home markets.
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From Swedish buy-now, pay-later giant Klarna Group Plc to equipment rental firm Ashtead Group Plc to Chinese bubble-tea maker Sexy Tea, businesses based outside the US with a combined estimated value of roughly $130 billion are working toward New York listings, according to calculations based on sources including Bloomberg News reports, PitchBook data and company disclosures.
The figure would add to last year’s record number of cross-border listings in the US. Higher valuations are a key part of the allure. European and Asian stocks trade at a roughly 35% discount to US peers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Glencore Plc became the latest company to unveil potential interest in a move on Wednesday. It would add another $50 billion to the total if it takes steps toward moving its main listing to the US.
“A lot of companies understand that right now the US is the deepest and most liquid market,” said Seth Rubin, head of global equity capital markets at Stifel Financial Corp. “It’s across the board and across industries.”
Last year, the US attracted 101 initial public offerings by foreign firms, a 51% jump from 2023, according to research by consultancy EY. The deals made up more than half of the US’s entire IPO count for the year — a historic high — even if they only contributed to about a fifth of the proceeds. That’s excluding transactions where capital wasn’t raised, such as Flutter Entertainment Plc shifting its primary listing from London to New York.
Hopes for a growth rally spurred by President Donald Trump’s pro-business agenda are also encouraging some European and Asian companies to think about a US float, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s co-head of global banking Filippo Gori said in an interview with Bloomberg TV last month.
Much of the capital at risk of fleeing comes from Europe. FTSE 100 constituent Ashtead Group has announced plans to move its primary listing stateside, a relocation that building materials firm CRH Plc made in 2023.
The region has already lost out on several IPOs in recent years. British chipmaker Arm Holdings Plc chose to list in the US in 2023, while Carlyle Group Inc. has filed confidentially for a US IPO of Dutch chemicals producer Nouryon, Bloomberg News reported this month.
