Citigroup grabbed the top spot in US-listed IPO underwriting activity in the third quarter, boosted by three of the largest deals of the period, according to research firm Dealogic on Friday.
The robust initial public offering activity in the month of August helped cement Citigroup's top ranking. During the month, it underwrote the $652.1 million IPO of Dresser-Rand Group Inc, the $600 million IPO of Seaspan Corp and the $332.1 million IPO of Enterprise GP Holdings LP - three of the 10 largest deals of the quarter.
In all, eight of the quarter's 10 largest IPOs debuted in August in what turned out to be the busiest month for US IPOs in five years.
While August was a welcoming month, the end-of-the-summer lull that hit around the US Labour Day holiday at the start of September cooled down the IPO market's momentum.
By the time deals attempted to start pricing again during the third full week in September, investors were side-tracked by the impending arrival of Hurricane Rita and worries over how a second major hurricane could disrupt the US economy and the broader equity market.
A number of deals that were supposed to price that week were delayed or postponed until the final week of the quarter.
That turned the last week of September into a busy one, with 12 deals pricing, according to Dealogic. But the offerings this past week received a mixed reception, and 25 percent of the week's IPOs priced below expectations. That was higher than the quarter's average of 16 percent of deals pricing below expectations.
In all, the third quarter's 80 deals raised $11.26 billion, up 25 percent from the second quarter but down 20 percent from the third quarter a year ago, according to Dealogic figures.
Citigroup served as lead bookrunner on 11 US-listed IPOs in the third quarter, giving it a nearly 14 percent market share, according to Dealogic. That was up from the second quarter when it ranked third with an almost 9 percent market share.
Morgan Stanley grabbed the No 2 spot with 11.6 percent market share. The underwriter worked on the largest IPO of the quarter - the $759 million IPO of CF Industries Holdings Inc.
Morgan Stanley's ranking rebounded from the second quarter when it ranked sixth after being battered by months of management turmoil and executive departures. At the very end of June, Morgan Stanley rehired former President John Mack to replace Chairman and CEO Philip Purcell and stanch the flow of departing executives.
Lehman Brothers was the No 3 bookrunner for the third quarter, down from second place last quarter. It had almost 11 percent market share from its work in 14 deals. Goldman Sachs Group, which had nabbed the top spot in the second quarter, ranked fourth in the quarter with 9.4 percent market share.
Combined, the top 10 underwriters in the third quarter accounted for 81.2 percent of total market share, according to Dealogic figures.