Despite the rocky stock market in recent weeks and social games maker Zynga's decision to delay its initial public offering, experts say a flood of companies will enter the public markets to raise capital this fall.
"The enthusiasm is there on the issuer side," said Kathleen Smith, a principal at Renaissance Capital, an IPO investment advisory in Greenwich, Conn. "The investors aren't as enthused yet, that's not as easy."
Large tech companies such as Chicago-based daily deals giant Groupon, New Jersey telecom Avaya or San Francisco-based Zynga, which has pushed its IPO back a few months, are likely next to take the plunge, Smith said.
"They'll test the waters," she said. "The smaller ones will follow."
Groupon, which filed for an initial public offering in June, has been criticized for its accounting practices. Still, Smith says Groupon will go public soon.
"People think it's controversial because the management has been outspoken," she said. "There's usually a quiet period. They haven't been quiet."
Ten companies filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week, according to Renaissance, including Cambridge online video company Brightcove, which plans to raise $50 million.
So far this year, five Massachusetts companies have priced IPOs, raising $900 million, among them Canton's Dunkin' Brands, which raised $423 million in July, and Cambridge car-sharing company Zipcar, which raised $174 million in April. That's well below 2000, when 34 Bay State companies went public, raising $7.1 billion, but better than 2002, when only one company filed, raising $100 million.
John Burgess, a partner at law firm Wilmer Hale focusing on securities law, said the recent stock market volatility created a "speed bump" for IPOs, though late summer tends to be slow anyway, with investors and others on vacation.
"There's no doubt that a market this volatile has put a crimp in the IPO market," he said. "There's much more watchful waiting than just going out. It's going to depend on one or two companies getting out there and showing it's possible."
brendan.lynch@bostonherald.com
