When several corporate securities lawyers spoke last month about the state of the moribund IPO market, most of them were optimistic that public offerings were poised for a rebound. And if last week’s goings-on are any indication, some firms can indeed look forward to good times on the horizon.
Dai-ichi Life Insurance got the ball rolling as Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Japanese firm Nishimura & Asahi took the lead advising Japan’s second-largest life insurer on its $11 billion IPO. The offering was the largest in the world over the past two years and the largest in Japan in almost a decade. Another life insurance company, Citigroup’s Primerica unit, saw its IPO exceed expectations by raising $320.4 million before closing last week. (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised Primerica on the listing.)
