The U.S. market for initial public offerings perked up smartly in the second quarter, PwC reported Wednesday.
Volume increased by 83% and proceeds raised grew by 111%, compared with the first quarter.
Seventy-five IPOs were completed in the second quarter, raising some $13 billion. This compared with 41 IPOs and proceeds of $6.2 billion in the first quarter.
Thanks to continued investor interest across a wide spectrum of sectors, a high proportion of IPOs upsized and priced above or at the high end of their ranges, PwC reported.
The market nearly met the record high volume of the second quarter of 2014 with 36 IPOs in the final month. This represented the most June IPOs since the technology IPO boom in 1999, according to PwC data.
"Among listings in the second quarter were several well-known brands, which drew significant investor attention to their offerings and the IPO market," Neil Dhar, U.S. capital markets leader in PwC's deals practice, said in a statement.
"As companies look to take advantage of the open IPO window, it's likely that we'll continue to see big name brands tap the capital markets and help provide support for continued interest in IPOs through the rest of 2015."
The healthcare sector continued to lead IPO market activity with 31 IPOs, or 41% of total volume. PwC said the high demand for smaller biotechnology and biopharmaceutical IPOs showcased investor interest in high-growth companies.
The second quarter was generally well-diversified on a total proceeds basis, the report said. The energy sector raised the highest proceeds with $2.7 billion from only six IPOs—all master limited partnerships—as energy prices slowly began to recover.
"Momentum built toward the end of the quarter with many quality names coming to market, and a doubling of activity in companies coming out of confidential filing into the pre-roadshow public filing environment bodes well for the third quarter," Derek Thomson, U.S. capital markets research leader at PwC's deals practice, said in the statement.
