Covid-19 impact: IPO slump stonewalls private equity exits in H1 2020

The value of private equity (PE) exits in the first half of the calendar year 2020 dropped to $1.9 billion, a 47 per cent decline over the same period last year and a 69 per cent fall compared with H2 2019. Market volatility and the decline in the number of initial public offerings (IPO) following the Covid-19 pandemic were the chief reasons for the dip in exits. Public market sales accounted for 80 per cent of the exit value in H1 2020, mainly due to SBI Cards’ $1.4 billion IPO.

“A number of companies have postponed their IPO plans, consequently