Not a single French IPO of significant size has been priced so far this year and this week, Navya, the French maker of driverless cars that counts Valeo as a shareholder, had to lower the price range and have its backers put more money into a €51m IPO to get the deal over the line.
The overall volume of French IPOs is now down 75% from the same period last year and issuance is not expected to pick up in the autumn. It is so quiet that one senior ECM banker in Paris told GlobalCapital this week that he was considering extending his summer stay in the south of France from four weeks to six, on the expectation that he will have so little business to do in September.
It is not a great indicator of market promise from Europe’s largest economies to have so few exciting IPOs. In contrast, the UK, despite all the uncertainties of Brexit, is going strong, especially in the mid-market segment which has generated alpha aplenty for investors this year.
There is, however, some cause for optimism. Emmanuel Macron’s government is moving ahead with its privatisation plans that will put state-owned enterprises such as Française des Jeux, the operator of France's national lottery, and ADP, the operator of both Parisian airports, up for sale.
The sales are likely to be equity capital markets transactions. They will face political resistance in France, but will raise money for a €10bn innovation fund, and hopefully enhance the competitiveness of the French economy. There are plenty in Paris and beyond hoping that Macron kicks off the privatisation drive soon.