NEW YORK – The upcoming week of June 29 features a slimmed-down IPO calendar, with just five companies expected to go public in the U.S., collectively raising an estimated $2.56 billion at midpoint pricing, according to data from Renaissance Capital. The holiday-shortened week—NYSE markets will be closed on Friday, July 3, in observance of Independence Day—will see the bulk of activity centered on one major deal: software acquirer Bending Spoons, set to debut under the ticker NASDAQ:BSP.
Bending Spoons is slated to contribute approximately $1.57 billion of the total, representing roughly 61% of next week’s projected IPO proceeds. The company, which owns and operates digital brands including AOL, Eventbrite, Vimeo, and WeTransfer, is targeting a market capitalization of $18.1 billion. However, its elevated leverage—4.0x net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA—positions the offering as a key test of investor appetite for debt-financed software acquisitions rather than pure SaaS growth stories.
Last Week’s Winners and Losers
Last week’s IPO market delivered mixed results. Doncasters Group, listed as DPC Holdings on the NYSE under ticker DPC, raised $919 million at a $4.8 billion valuation, pricing 27.9 million shares at $33—above the $28–$32 range. The stock opened at $44 and closed the week up 43%, making it a standout winner. “Global conflict and rapidly increased military spending have certainly driven a fair amount of growth here, and growth is what’s selling these aerospace deals,” noted Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital. Lukas Muehlbauer of IPOX Research added that Doncasters is “not just a pure-play defense story,” citing AI-related power demand driving its industrial gas turbines.
On the losing side, DSC Holdings, trading on NASDAQ as DSC, raised just $51 million and saw its shares plummet 57% by Friday, marking one of the worst debuts for a $50 million-plus IPO tracked by Renaissance. The divergence underscored a clear market preference: industrial and defense plays attracted strong demand, while smaller China-based software offerings struggled to gain traction.
This Week’s Deal Pipeline
Beyond Bending Spoons, the week’s calendar includes three operating-company IPOs and four SPACs. CopperTech Metals (NYSE:CUX) and ITG (NASDAQ:ITG) each have $400 million offerings on deck, while Lime (NASDAQ:LIME) is expected to raise $174 million. MetaOptics (NASDAQ:MOT) may come with a smaller $18 million deal, pending confirmation. Together, Bending Spoons, CopperTech, and ITG account for approximately 92% of expected proceeds, making this week more about pricing for larger names—software M&A, copper, and broadband—than breadth across many deals.
Overall, next week’s IPO schedule is about 33% larger than last week’s seven-deal calendar and more than double last week’s total for operating companies, per Renaissance’s data.
Bending Spoons in Focus
Bending Spoons is the largest pure-play acquisition vehicle to hit the public markets in recent memory. In its prospectus, CEO Luca Ferrari noted, “We’ve identified more than 1,000 digital businesses” as potential future acquisition targets. As of March, the company’s products boasted over 500 million monthly active users and more than 9 million paying subscribers. However, the $18.1 billion valuation and 4.0x net debt leverage present a risk that investors will weigh carefully, especially in a rate-sensitive environment.
Market Context and Broader IPO Index
The broader IPO market has shown resilience this year. Renaissance’s IPO Index has gained 23.9% year-to-date through June 25, compared to the S&P 500’s 8.1% return. The International IPO Index has surged 53.2%, far outpacing the ACWX’s 14.6% gain. These figures suggest that investor appetite for new issues remains strong, though selectivity is evident.
SK hynix Looms Large
Looking ahead, the pipeline continues to thicken. SK hynix (KRX:000660) is preparing to raise as much as $29.4 billion through a Nasdaq ADR listing, with proceeds earmarked for chip fabrication plants and equipment. The bookbuild is scheduled to begin July 6, with final pricing on July 9 and trading set to commence July 10. Ryu Young-ho, senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, noted that listing alongside Micron (NASDAQ:MU) on Nasdaq could provide SK hynix “an opportunity to be re-rated in the U.S. market.”
While SK hynix is not on the calendar for next week, its looming presence creates a critical window for Bending Spoons to demonstrate strong demand before the massive AI-memory offering begins to draw capital. Bankers and investors alike will be watching closely to see whether the software acquirer can cross the finish line successfully.
