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Bausch Health
filed for the long-awaited initial public offering of its Bausch & Lomb eye health business late on Wednesday.
The company plans to list it on both the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker “BLCO.”
Bausch Health
didn’t disclose how many shares it would raise or their price range.
Bausch & Lomb is one of two that Bausch Health (ticker: BHC) is planning to spin off into independently listed companies, along with its skin care company Solta Medical.
Shares in Bausch Health were flat in Thursday morning trading at $23.09. The stock is down 16.4% so far this year.
Bausch Health is pressing ahead with plans for an IPO of Bausch & Lomb even as falling valuations and volatile stock markets have led to a sharp drop in listings activity that experts say will take several months to recover.
In the first quarter of 2022, the number of global IPOs dropped 37% year over to 321, raising $54.4 billion in proceeds, according to a study published by EY on Wednesday. It marks a dramatic shift from the first quarter of last year, when 512 IPOS raised roughly twice as much, with $112 billion in proceeds—marking the most active quarter in the last two decades.
Paul Go, EY global IPO leader, attributed the slump in activity to geopolitical tensions, stock market volatility, price corrections, and concerns around commodity and energy prices. The impact of inflation and potential interest rate increases have also held companies back from making their stock market debuts.
“While markets continue to be volatile, and uncertainties on economic recovery remain for reasons including continuing concerns around Covid-19, there is a risk that IPO activity will continue to slow further with IPO candidates choosing to postpone their transactions,” he added.
Earlier this month, Greek yogurt maker Chobani delayed its plans for an IPO in the U.S. until at least the second half of 2022 or even 2023, amid the volatile market, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Other companies which have braved the rocky public markets recently have disappointed investors. On Thursday, shares in Italian yacht maker Ferretti, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate Weichai Group, ended flat in their Hong Kong debut after raising $244 million.
Write to Lina Saigol at lina.saigol@dowjones.com
