U.S. IPOs hit annual record in less than six months

Six months into the year, U.S. initial public offerings have tallied $171 billion to eclipse the annual record of $168 billion set in 2020. The data were compiled by Dealogic.

Industry insiders say the "IPO gold rush” is pushed by extremely high corporate valuations in the stock market, inflated by the Federal Reserve's low-interest rates and monetary stimulus in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic – as well as special purpose acquisition companies formed strictly to raise money through IPOs.

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