“The pipeline in Switzerland and Spain is very strong,” says head of markets and executive committee member Bjorn Sibbern.
Bjorn Sibbern, head of stock exchanges and member of the executive committee of Swiss stock exchange operator SIX, expects more initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2025. “The pipeline in Switzerland and Spain is very strong,” he told the AWP news agency on Monday.
And it’s not just companies based in the country that are interested in an IPO in Switzerland, explains the Dane, former president of European markets at Nasdaq and responsible since the start of the year for both the Swiss and Spanish stock exchanges at SIX, as well as the SDX digital platform.
“We are currently in discussions with three to five foreign companies who are considering entering the Swiss market,” said Bjorn Sibbern. Galderma’s success and significant access to capital in Switzerland has attracted interest from companies not only in Europe, but also in the Middle East and Asia.
Trading volumes expected to rebound
In Switzerland, SIX Swiss Exchange recorded its largest IPO since 2017 in March 2024 with Galderma. The former joint venture of Nestlé and L’Oréal was valued at around 14.5 billion francs at the start of trading and since then, the dermatological laboratory’s shares have increased by around 40%.
And last week, Sunrise made its comeback on the Swiss Stock Exchange. The mobile operator was outsourced by its parent company Liberty Global. It was therefore not a classic IPO with capital increase.
More IPOs are also likely to trigger more trading in 2025, according to Bjorn Sibbern. Overall, he expects trading volumes to recover in the coming year. Also because he expects volatility. “There are still many uncertainties regarding the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East,” he notes.
The Swiss stock market was already expecting a recovery after the summer. Contrary to expectations, the effects of the US presidential election were minimal. “Volumes remained broadly stable and volatility increased slightly
shortly before the election, but returned to normal afterwards,” notes the director.
In 2024, Bjorn Sibbern expects approximately the same trading volume as the previous year, which was already low. It therefore assumes that SIX’s turnover this year will be approximately the same level as in 2023.
