Mike Blankenship Discusses IPO Market Rebound with Venture Capital Journal

Winston & Strawn partner Mike Blankenship was quoted in a Venture Capital Journal article discussing his perspective on the rebound in the IPO market. According to Venture Capital Journal, at the end of May, US IPO volume was double where it was in the previous two years, with 141 IPOs completed on US exchanges in the first five months of the year, up from 77 in the same period in 2024 and 68 in the first five months of 2023.

Mike described himself as bullish on the IPO market. “There are a number of confidentially submitted ones that have been filed for both exchanges, a lot more than you think,” he continued. “And we’ll see this for the rest of this year, post June 30, coming up on the second half of the year where you’re getting a lot of different companies that have good valuations, good management and have been prepping for this IPO for a year, a year and a half and have team ready.”

Last year there was about $30 billion in stock issuance through IPOs in the US, he noted. If this year’s issuance is flat compared with last year or a little bit better, “you’ve got a number of sizable ones that are going to come out,” he says. “You’re looking at $25 billion to $40 billion on a year-over-year basis, or at least 200 IPOs."

Read the full article (subscription required).