By January 19 of last year - the end of the third week of the year - 16 accelerated bookbuilds had raised a total of US$4.84bn, dwarfing the meagre US$685m raised through three ABBs in 2019 so far. With a number of stocks entering blackout periods, those numbers are not expected to significantly change in the short term. The current lack of activity follows a slowdown in ABBs throughout 2018, when the number of deals tapered out by year end. In the last six months of 2018 there were 32 ABBs above US$50m in EMEA, compared with 122 in the first six months. The consensus is that volatility is to blame for underperforming stocks following block trades, and with Brexit uncertainty holding the market at a standstill, this volatility is not expected to be going anywhere soon.
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