Spain. The Initial Public Offerings Law Review

The process of going public in Spain has experienced major changes since the early 2000s, mainly because of the adoption of EU regulations seeking to achieve the European Union’s
economic and monetary integration and, more recently, the creation of a capital markets union. During this process, Spain has applied EU law in a timely manner, achieving full harmonisation of its domestic framework and a competitive position among its European peers.

In this context, and as part of Spain’s own efforts to promote market efficiency while ensuring investors’ protection, Spanish stock exchanges have gained wider international recognition. In the past few years, concerns regarding the domestic political spectrum, along with international developments such as US external policies, Brexit and later the covid-19 pandemic, have taken their toll. From 2016, Spanish listing activity declined in terms of both the number of deals in the main market and the proceeds raised, hitting rock bottom in 2019, with no initial public offerings (IPOs) and only three listings in the Spanish main market.

The outlook remains uncertain in 2022, with only one listing completed in the first semester and an uncertain number of transactions in the pipeline for the second half of the year.

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