AFME is pleased to circulate its Equity Primary Markets and Trading Report for the third quarter of 2020 (Q3 2020).

The report provides an update on the performance of the equity market in Europe in activities such as primary issuance, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), trading, and equity valuations

Key highlights:

• Equity underwriting on European exchanges accumulated a total of €124.4 bn in proceeds in the first three quarters of 2020, an increase of 44% from the value originated in the same period of 2019 (€86.4 bn).

Follow-on offerings rose 71% YtD, the largest 1Q-3Q amount since 2017.

IPO proceeds decreased 59% YtD, the lowest 1Q-3Q amount since 2012.

• Completed Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) of European companies totalled €397.7bn in Q1-Q3 2020 a 44% decrease from the amount completed in Q1-Q3 2019 (€704.2bn).

The amount of announced M&A totalled €543.7bn in Q1-Q3 2020 a 16% decrease from the same period of 2019.

• Average daily equity trading activity on European main markets and MTFs stood at €69.5bn in Q1-Q3 2020, 17% above the average daily value observed in Q1-Q3 2019 (€59.2bn).

• Bid-ask spreads for benchmark equity indices of European shares has continued to decline during the year. However, liquidity conditions, as measured by bid-ask spreads, have not returned to pre-COVID levels.

• Update on MiFID II dark trading caps: The European Double Volume Cap (DVC) mechanism seeks to limit the amount of dark trading of equity-like instruments on EU venues.
  
  ESMA publishes on a monthly basis the list of instruments temporarily banned from dark trading at the EU or trading venue level after their trading volumes surpass pre-determined dark trading thresholds.
  
  The number of instruments banned from dark trading has declined in the course of the year at 246 instruments suspended at the EU or trading venue level as of Nov-20 (from above 1,200 in Aug-18).