Weekly Market Recap | Sep 30 – Oct 06

IPO’s in the week

• BingEx, a leading on-demand dedicated courier service provider in China, announced its initial public offering (IPO) of 4,000,000 shares on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol FLX, effective October 4, 2024, at an offering price of $16.50 per share. BingEx operates a pioneering on-demand dedicated courier service for individual and business customers with superior time certainty, delivery safety, and service quality.

• Chain Bridge Bank, National Association, is a national banking association chartered under the National Bank Act and primarily regulated, supervised, and examined by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Additionally, Chain Bridge Bancorp (CBNA) has announced an offering of 1,850,000 shares on the NYSE, effective October 4, 2024, at $22.00 per share.

• FrontView REIT (FVR) announced an initial public offering of 13,200,000 shares on the NYSE, effective October 2, 2024, at $19.00 per share. FrontView is an internally-managed net-lease REIT that acquires, owns, and manages primarily outparcel properties net leased on a long-term basis to a diversified group of tenants.

• StandardAero, a leading independent provider of aviation services, announced an initial public offering of 60,000,000 shares on the NYSE, effective October 2, 2024, at $24.00 per share. StandardAero’s services include engine and airframe maintenance, repair and overhaul, engine component repair, engineering services, interior completions, and paint applications.

• Wellchange Holdings Company Limited (WCT) announced an initial public offering of 2,000,000 shares on the Nasdaq, effective October 2, 2024, at $4.00 per share.. Wellchange Holdings operates as a holding company, providing customized software solutions, cloud-based SaaS platforms, and application design and development services through its subsidiaries, primarily serving customers in Hong Kong.

• HomesToLife (HTLM) announced an initial public offering of 1,250,000 shares on the Nasdaq, effective October 1, 2024, at $4.00 per share. HomesToLife is a home furnishings company that helps homeowners create unique living spaces, leveraging its expertise in the Asian consumer market to innovate and design sofas that enhance home aesthetics.

• ZJK Industrial Co., Ltd. (ZJK) announced an initial public offering of 1,250,000 shares on the Nasdaq, effective September 30, 2024, at $5.00 per share. ZJK Industrial manufactures and sells precision metal products, including standard screws, nuts, bolts, turning parts, stamping parts, and CNC machining parts, catering to the precision fasteners and structural parts markets.

Markets this week

• Retail investors are flooding the oil market amid a major price surge driven by geopolitical tensions. Their increased participation is boosting liquidity but also adding volatility, with prices potentially inflated beyond fundamentals. 

• Banks are ramping up leveraged buyouts, offering over $15 billion in debt as falling interest rates boost private equity’s competitiveness in acquisitions.

• Tempur Sealy secured a $1.6 billion loan to fund its Mattress Firm acquisition, despite FTC opposition over competition concerns.

• Goldman Sachs traded over £1 billion in Thames Water bonds as distressed funds bought the debt at a discount amid liquidity concerns. With S&P predicting a likely debt restructuring, the utility continues talks with creditors over its £10 billion debt load.

• T-Mobile sold $561.3 million in bonds backed by wireless equipment contracts after postponing the deal in August due to market volatility. The RBC-structured offering was oversubscribed, reflecting strong demand in the asset-backed bond market.

• Ares Management is nearing a buyout of Form Technologies with $1 billion in financing from Jefferies to refinance the company’s debt.

• OpenAI secured a $4 billion credit line from major banks, including JPMorgan and Citi, adding to its recent $6.6 billion fundraising. This gives the AI company access to over $10 billion in liquidity to fuel its growth and innovation in AI development.

• Global debt markets hit a record $600 billion in bond sales in September as issuers capitalized on falling interest rates ahead of the U.S. election. Strong demand and favorable borrowing conditions fueled the surge across sectors, including leveraged loans and high-yield bonds.

• Chinese property stocks plummeted after a 47% rally, with a Bloomberg gauge of developers declining up to 16%. JPMorgan cautioned that recent policy easing may disappoint investors, increasing the risk of further corrections.

• Private lenders have set a new record by raising $21.8 billion in investment-grade debt in 2024, surpassing the previous high of $21.4 billion in 2021. This increase is fueled by competition with banks and favorable borrowing conditions, despite a rise in default rates.

• The S&P 500, which is up 20% in 2024, is entering a challenging earnings season with profit growth expectations revised down to 4.7%. Concerns about spending cuts and demand slowdowns are mounting amid geopolitical risks and economic uncertainty.