May Saw Most US Initial Public Offerings (IPO) Since November 2007: PricewaterhouseCoopers IPO Watch Report

More U.S. companies launched publicly in May 2013 than at any time since November 2007, part of a recent remarkable surge in initial public offerings, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP analysis released on Monday.

There were 62 initial public offerings from March to July 2013, 82 percent more than in the first three months of 2013, and up 88 percent from the same period last year.

The 62 launches in the most recent quarter raised $13.1 billion, with strong gains in totals raised over the previous quarter and the year before.

May recorded 30 IPOs collectively raising $6 billion, with the most offerings of any month since November 2007. Robust IPO activity mirrored confident equity markets, said the PwC analysis.

IPO activity was “bolstered by early gains in a strong, albeit volatile equity market, and an increased appetite for risk among investors,” said Henri Leveque, a PwC capital markets analyst, in a statement.

But investor appetite seems to have dimmed in early June, as speculation mounted over Federal Reserve monetary policy. The analysis counted only five IPOs in the first half of June.

Technology and health care sectors pulled the most weight in these public launches, representing about half of IPO activity in the second quarter. Financial service firms came third.

The surge in public launches comes amid optimism from North American companies about dipping into their cash hoards for fresh corporate investments.