Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, is calling on the EU to address the fact that European tech companies are choosing the US over Europe when going public.
“Should it be a natural law that European tech companies almost exclusively go to US stock markets to go public?” Kristersson asked in an interview with the Financial Times.
Next month, Sweden will have its second major tech IPO within a 10-year period — first Spotify and now Klarna — both of which have chosen the New York Stock Exchange.
Although the companies are picking a listing in the US, both are keeping their headquarters in Stockholm.
Kristersson understands the US’s appeal: “Access to capital and the willingness to invest is much better.”
However, he believes a stronger European capital markets union could help keep successful companies in Europe.
The push for a capital markets union has gained momentum recently following the publication of Mario Draghi’s report in September of last year, in which the former European Central Bank president called for expanding the capital market as a major source of funding.
However, Sweden — which has a well-functioning capital market with both retail investors and pension funds investing in the stock market and private investments — has seen a large number of small companies go public on Nasdaq’s small-cap lists.
“Sweden has had more listings in Stockholm than Spain, Germany, France and the Netherlands together. Whether that is a Swedish strength or a European weakness can be discussed,” Kristersson said.
Klarna is expected to go public in April at a valuation of around $15bn.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/stop-us-ipos-for-european-tech-companies-says-swedens-prime-minister/
