Toronto Stock Exchange operator TMX is reporting a substantial lineup of prospective public listings, with roughly 1,600 companies at different points of preparation to list, the exchange's chief executive told an interviewer. The pipeline has held up even as recent weakness in U.S. software stocks prompted market volatility across North America.
CEO John McKenzie attributed much of the sustained interest to Canada's deep exposure to the mining sector and elevated commodity prices, which he said are encouraging companies to seek capital through public markets. He noted that after only two new firms listed on the TSX in Toronto last year, the exchange anticipates listings will recover.
McKenzie said that as many as half of the roughly 1,600 potential listings originate outside Canada, drawn to TMX's venture ecosystem designed to help early-stage companies raise financing. He said the exchange has been actively courting prospective issuers abroad as part of that effort.
"We have been engaged in the Middle East. That’s an area that is actually transitioning to more of a mining economy ... We have resources that are on the ground in multiple jurisdictions, like South America, like Australia, good resource economies," McKenzie said.
Beyond a traditional IPO, the CEO pointed out that companies are considering a range of routes to access public markets. Those alternatives include reverse takeovers, direct listings and graduations from the TSX Venture Exchange to the main TSX. McKenzie also highlighted the capital pool company program on the TSX Venture Exchange as another pathway for private firms to raise capital and become publicly traded.
"What is different now versus what it was six months ago is the number of companies that we are engaged with, that are on a public company track, that are actually doing the work that they’re getting a public company ready, they’re engaging with investors ... That is a deep pipeline," he said.
Markets have been volatile in recent days amid concerns that artificial intelligence could upend established business models, particularly in software. That volatility has clouded expectations for an anticipated rebound in U.S. IPO activity. McKenzie said this market noise is concentrated in technology and software segments, while demand linked to commodities remains resilient.
"While this noise is a bit more technology-based or software-based, there’s also been a lot of continued strength around commodities. We’ve got a lot of mining companies and resource companies that are in our pipeline," McKenzie said.
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