The initial public offering (IPO) market has pretty much frozen over in the past few weeks as current Wall Street concerns like inflationary pressures, a more aggressive Federal Reserve, and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties cause many would-be listings to wait for a less risky trading environment.
Adding to all the uncertainties, the IPO market is also coming off a record-setting year, with more than 1,000 IPOs raising a record $315 billion, according to Dealogic. Before this, totals raised by IPOs never hit $200 billion in one year.
In an environment like this, it is no wonder IPOs have pulled back in the first quarter. However, there are still a handful of privately owned companies investors can get excited about possibly listing by the end of the year.
Here's three blockbuster companies that could go public this year:
Reddit:
Popular social media platfrom Reddit--which calls itself the front page of the internet--filed confidentially for an IPO late last year, making the company one of the more anticipated debuts of 2022. Reddit was valued at $10 billion in 2021 during a funding round with Fidelity Investments.
The company has tapped Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) as lead underwriters back in January, with the company reportedly seeking a public valuation of more than $15 billion.
Mobileye:
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) recently filed to take Mobileye public again, five years after acquiring the autonomous driving technology company for $15.3 billion. The company is a leader in the self-driving technology space, providing software for major car makers like Ford (NYSE: F) and Volkswagen (OTC: VWAGY).
Intel plans to spin off the company rather than create its own self-driving division, with the chip giant retaining majority ownership over the business. Mobileye has an estimated $50 billion valuation.
Discord:
The popular instant messaging platfrom has yet to confirm plans to go public, but Discord has been making reported moves towards a possible IPO. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Discord was interviewing investment bankers with the intent towards a public listing, possibly a direct listing.
Discord, which rose to prominence during the pandemic, is popular with gaming communities, but also enjoys a broad range of private chat rooms that users can be invited to be a part of by channel creators/moderators.
Notably, Discord rejected a $12 billion buyout offer from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) last year, reaching a partnership deal with Sony (NYSE: SONY) instead. The company is valued at $15 billion since its last funding round back in September.