Asia dominates the list with G.M. the only U.S. company on it
What are the five biggest global IPOs in history? Would you know if you were asked in a Trivial Pursuit competition?
If not, read on for a basic primer of who’s made the biggest mark in the global IPO world.
What is an IPO?
An IPO is an initial public offering, which refers to the process of offering shares in a private corporation to the public as new stock issuance. This public share issuance allows a company to raise capital from public investors.
The transition from a private to a public company can be a critical time for private investors to fully realize gains from their investment as it usually includes share premiums for current private investors. It also allows public investors to take part in the offering.
When companies go public via an IPO to raise capital for their business, some IPOs rake in billions of dollars.
The World’s Top 5 Global IPOs
Here are the five most successful IPOs in global history. Asia dominates the list, with three of the top five companies from China and only one car company from the U.S.
- Alibaba Group Holding Limited
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is a diversified online e-commerce company based in China. It is China’s – and possibly the world’s – biggest online commerce company. This holding company provides technology infrastructure and marketing to help merchants, brands, and other businesses leverage the power of new technology to engage with users and customers to operate. Its three main sites — Taobao, Tmall, and Alibaba.com — host millions of merchants and businesses and have hundreds of millions of users.
Alibaba went public with a $21.8 billion IPO on September 18, 2014. Four days later, underwriters exercised an option to sell more shares, raising its total IPO to $25 billion.
Although technology companies traditionally list on NASDAQ, Alibaba chose the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) for its debut. Its IPO was primarily underwritten by Credit Suisse.
- Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.
The Agricultural Bank of China, or AgBank, is one of the People’s Republic of China’s big four banks. It was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Beijing. It repurchases transactions, debt instrument investments, and holdings of derivative positions.
AgBank went public on July 7, 2010 and raised $19.2 billion. As with Alibaba, it increased its IPO size to $22.1 billion.
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC Bank) provides banking services. It offers deposits, loans, fund underwriting, foreign currency settlement, and other services and provides its services to both individuals and businesses.
When the ICBC Bank listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange and went public on October 20, 2006, it garnered a total of almost $19.1 billion.
On January 19, 2007, ICBC exercised an overallotment option that allowed its to lift its IPO to $21.9 billion, making it the world's third-largest IPO.
- General Motors Company
General Motors Company is a U.S.-based car manufacturer, which owns Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac.
A year after it filed for bankruptcy, General Motors emerged from bankruptcy and debuted on the NYSE on November 16, 2010. It raised $20.1 billion in its initial public offering, which is the biggest IPO for any U.S.-based company.
- NTT DOCOMO, Inc.
NTT DOCOMO, a Tokyo‑based telecommunications company, is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. It provides phone, video phone, internet, and mail services.
When it listed its IPO on the public market on October 22, 1998, NTT raised just under $18.4 billion.
NTT, which was previously listed on the NYSE, was underwritten by Goldman Sachs Asia.
