Shortly after the first COVID-19 lockdown measures came into effect in March 2020, Ali Khan Lalani found himself in a grocery store aisle in a vain search for frozen pizza.
91裸聊视频淭he grocery store owner said, 91裸聊视频業 can91裸聊视频檛 keep them on the shelf.91裸聊视频� There was a two pizza limit per customer and there were zero,91裸聊视频� recalled the owner of Toronto91裸聊视频檚 General Assembly pizzeria, who admits to always having at least two frozen pizzas on hand for his daughter or next Netflix binge session.
91裸聊视频淚 thought to myself, 91裸聊视频榯his is the moment that General Assembly is going to figure out how to make a frozen pizza.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
Within a year, he had built a pizza subscription service, making 2,000 pies daily and delivering them to doorsteps across the Greater Toronto Area.
Lalani thought it was time to go public 91裸聊视频� a move dozens of other Canadian companies have considered or undertaken, even as the pandemic threatened business models and pushed many toward bankruptcy.
As of this April, the TMX Group said 25 companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange held initial public offerings in 2021. That91裸聊视频檚 up from 17 throughout all of 2020 and 18 in 2019.
TMX also counted 158 new listings on the exchanges as of April, while all of last year had 300 and 2019 saw 273.
Nuvei Corp., Well Health Technologies Inc., Dialogue Health Technologies Inc., Magnet Forensics Inc. and Boat Rocker Media Inc. were among the companies who undertook IPOs and listed.
Andrey Golubov, an assistant professor of finance at the University of Toronto, believes the rush of IPOs, which he has similarly noticed in the U.S. and the U.K., stems from a surge in demand some companies saw during the pandemic and low interest rates helping investors pour more cash into companies.
But he believes the spike seen this year is more of a blip than a long-term pattern because the number of IPOs has been falling since the dot-com bubble, when a rapid rise in technology stock valuations in the late 1990s ended in failure after businesses didn91裸聊视频檛 live up to expectations.
91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 think we can interpret this recent resurgence as any sign of Canada being particularly welcoming to IPOs or the tech scene becoming more vibrant,91裸聊视频� he said.
91裸聊视频淔or some companies it91裸聊视频檚 just the right time to raise capital because of what they do. For others, it91裸聊视频檚 very rich valuations that they see and want to capitalize on.91裸聊视频�
Lalani was keen on being part of the rush because the pandemic proved to him how resilient his company was and how much room for growth it had.
He estimates the North American market for frozen pizza is worth at least $17 billion and even if General Assembly snags one per cent, that91裸聊视频檚 still a $175-million business. The U.S. expansion he91裸聊视频檚 eyeing would boost that share even higher.
Lalani settled on an IPO because he figured 91裸聊视频渨e91裸聊视频檙e going to need a lot more capital later to keep scaling up to get our slice of the pie.91裸聊视频�
General Assembly held its IPO on June 3, pricing more than 22.3 million shares at $1.73 on the TSXV. They closed at 94 cents that day and have since fallen to around 68 cents.
Months prior, securities lawyer-turned entrepreneur Greg Smith took his Vancouver-based education technology company Thinkific Labs Inc. public.
He wanted to go public because the company saw a surge in customers and opportunities as education moved online during the pandemic and because tech valuations were spiking.
91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 a ton of money available for both venture capital funding and IPOs, and so I think that opened the floodgates,91裸聊视频� Smith said.
But he admits there were some frights.
91裸聊视频淚n the middle of Thinkific91裸聊视频檚 IPO, we saw quite a drop in the TSX and in the markets and so there was a point there where we questioned whether we were going to be able to go through and do it,91裸聊视频� he recalled.
The market eventually bounced back and Thinkific debuted on the TSX in April with a $160 million IPO and a valuation of more than $1 billion, giving it the much-coveted 91裸聊视频渦nicorn91裸聊视频� status. The company sold about 12.3 million shares at $13 each and they91裸聊视频檝e since risen to about $18.
Smith celebrated with small video celebrations before Rhino Ventures, one of the company91裸聊视频檚 investors, showed up on his doorstep with a float decked out in golden balloons, champagne bottles, plenty of glitter and a replica of the podium companies typically mark their TSX debut at.
91裸聊视频淭hey loaded us onto the float and drove us around my neighbourhood91裸聊视频� which was actually quite a bit of fun,91裸聊视频� Smith said. 91裸聊视频淪ome (neighbours) clapped. Some waved hi.91裸聊视频�
While there was no bedazzled float for Toronto91裸聊视频檚 MedNow, the virtual pharmacy and telemedicine company was just as thrilled about its $37-million IPO made up of 5.5 million shares priced at $6.75 on the TSXV in March. Shares have since declined to about $1.80 each.
Co-founder Karim Nassar didn91裸聊视频檛 hesitate to go public, even in a crisis, because the pandemic shifted interest and capital toward medical and health businesses that have long been starved for attention.
91裸聊视频淭he industry has been so wanting and highly nascent when it comes to technological advancements and a lot of times people say health care is still a bit in the Dark Ages when it comes to tech,91裸聊视频� said Nassar.
91裸聊视频淲e would have probably still went ahead with the IPO, if the pandemic hadn91裸聊视频檛 hit91裸聊视频� but there was clearly such an incredible appetite, it would have been a bit of a missed opportunity to sit out.91裸聊视频�
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
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