Big turmoil is being seen in companies deemed particularly successful on the New York Stock Exchange during the pandemic, with stock prices plummeting, according to a Financial Times report. Out of more than 400 IPOs, 76% have a share price that trades below the original offer price, according to the Financial Times analysis of relevant Dealogic data. The 400+ companies in question raised at least $100 million from 2019 to 2021 and today, due to events, have an average return of -44% compared to their IPO date. This has forced some promising brands back into private hands at comparatively low prices.

The rally includes once-popular stocks like Robinhood Markets, Lyft and DoorDash, all of which went public during the market boom that ended in late 2021. The Nasdaq Composite, which includes many such companies, shows a loss of 32%. since the beginning of the year. While stock prices are falling, private equity funds are actively approaching the aforementioned highly listed companies as potential takeover targets, according to Wall Street executives. And some councils are ready to discuss this possibility. A typical example, according to the Financial Times, is ForgeRock, a business software company. Last week, he announced that he would enter private equity funds, and just a year ago, in September 2021, he was listed on the stock exchange. The price is $2.3 billion and will be acquired by Thoma Bravo. For history’s sake, ForgeRock’s stock price has nearly doubled since its New York listing, generating a capitalization of approximately $4 billion. Its chief executive, Francis Ross, told investors last November that “market awareness of ForgeRock is growing, so I think the IPO will help with that as well.” However, due to falling indices this year, its share price has fallen 50% below its listing price. Even with the 53 percent premium that Thoma Bravo will pay, the acquisition price is nearly a tenth below ForgeRock’s IPO price.

Meanwhile, just a week before ForgeRock’s announcement, digital shopping platform Poshmark was sold to South Korean giant Naver for $1.2 billion, almost 60% below its IPO price. Finally, it is reported that as the U.S. Federal Reserve is committed to raising interest rates and the economy heads into recession, managers and shareholders of many companies known for skyrocketing earnings but not profits are being asked to make painful decisions about whether to accept offers from private equity or strategic competitors looking for takeover opportunities.