NEW YORK—PricewaterhouseCoopers on Thursday reported that the number of initial public offerings for the first half of the year has fallen to a four-year low because of turbulent market conditions.
The number of public offerings in the first half reached 42, raising some $29 billion worth of capital. That compared to the 147 IPOs during the same time period last year, which raised $32.8 billion.
The number of IPO deals fell 71 percent compared to the first half of 2007. However, the amount of money raised so far this year was skewed because of Visa Inc.'s $11.4 billion public flotation.
"The turbulence in the credit markets and the related volatility in the equity markets continue to challenge IPO pricing," said Scott Gehsmann, a capital markets partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers' transaction services group.
Gehsmann added that companies considering IPOs don't have a "clear view regarding deal timing." He made no conclusions about how the rest of the year will fare.
Stocks have plunged this year as financial companies began to take massive financial hits stemming from securities tied to subprime mortgages. The ongoing credit and mortgage crisis has caused many investors to move their investments into cash, and that has stopped many companies from pursuing a public listing.
