Let’s just start with the unfortunate truth: Australia’s IPO market remains lacklustre. By which I mean incredibly boring.
We’ve seen a small handful of companies list this year, if you can call it that at all. Most IPO talk broadly has been focused on America.
Over there we saw leading forum website Reddit recently debut, and Donald Trump backdoor listed Truth Social in the US (a company that the market has only just figured out is losing money.)
These persistent doldrums aren’t exactly a surprise.
HLB Mann Judd said earlier this year it expects 2024 to be another challenging year for the ASX IPO market. Last year was the slowest year the bourse saw since 2004, according to analysts with that firm.
Virgin Australia recently stepped back, once again, from its plans for a 2024 IPO listing. Australian tech-start up darling Canva isn’t even going to try until 2025.
The ASX itself expects to see the local IPO market start to heat up in the second half of this calendar year.
In my view, I decipher this to mean the ASX is waiting for the US Fed to make its first rate cut. And without a doubt, nobody can say that event won’t cause an injection of enthusiasm into trader psychology everywhere.
At least one miner earlier this year withdrew its application to list at all. But that’s enough of doom and gloom. Let’s take a look at what we’ve got.
Here are three companies set to list on the ASX this month:
Blinklab Ltd – 4th April 2024 ($7M @ 20cps)
The Market Online and HotCopper has already interviewed the Chairman of Blinklab, Brian Leedman, ahead of the float later this week.
Blinklab are interesting. They have tech developed by Princeton University that can tell if a child has autism or ADHD by their blink response to visual and audio stimulation.
Mr Leedman co-founded an app that could diagnose coughs under ResApp Health, which Pfizer bought for $179M two years ago.
But the play makes sense beyond having celebrity in its ranks – autism rates in Australia are rising faster than the global average (in line with a rapidly growing NDIS).
The big question will be if the tech can get through US FDA approval.
D3 Energy – 26th April 2024 ($10M @ 20cps)
D3 Energy are going to be the next company to bring a helium play to the ASX.
A few years ago, there weren’t many helium players, if any at all. In a post-COVID world, however, now we’ve got several.
D3 aren’t pureplay helium – they’ve also got natural gas assets.
Those assets (both types) are located in South Africa, where from a continent-scale perspective, D3 won’t be too lonely in its helium ambitions.
Helium peer, or competitor, Noble Helium (ASX:NHE) has been set up in Tanzania for a few years now, and enjoys some degree of not irregular attention.
One thing to note about D3 Energy though: its flagship permit is still under application.
Tasmea Ltd – 29th April 2024 ($59M @ $1.56/sh)
Finally, we have the biggest float to come through this month – engineering firm Tasmea, a company that boasts 17 subsidiaries under its belt. Electrical services are a recurring theme.
This company is by far the most substantial float on the market this month with Morgans as an underwriter and a triple digit issue price (including a decimal, of course.)
The company owns Tasman Power, ICE Engineering & Construction, and Tasman Asset Management Services, just to name a few.
The company also owns one business focusing on the provision of “Indigenous trade services,” whatever that means (they mean labour.) That company is called Yura Yarta.
Tasmea is chaired by one Giuseppe Totaro, who co-founded ASX-listed GR Engineering (ASX:GNG) where he remains as an NED. He also acted as the company’s CFO.