Douglas will have left a sour taste for those investors who have lost money and could be a drag for some IPO candidates.

"We're still in the recovery phase, so we're not in an anything goes environment but a selective environment," said Martin Thorneycroft, head of cash ECM in EMEA at Morgan Stanley, which co-led the Galderma IPO.

Although caution remains, further new issues are to be expected, Julian Schulze De la Cruz, a capital markets lawyer at Noerr, said.

Private equity firm Permira has been preparing an IPO for Italian luxury brand Golden Goose - known for its worn looking runners - as soon as the second quarter. Apollo-backed lender OLB Bank has also said it is preparing to go public.

Fuel card provider DKV Mobility - another from CVC's portfolio after Douglas - is also waiting to come back after postponing its IPO plans last year.

CVC itself is expected to come to the market with an IPO worth more than euro1 billion as soon as after Easter, a person familiar with the plan said. Bankers: The European IPO market is growing, but the recovery is slow

Swiss skin care company Galderma's solid market debut late last week has further calmed fears about the sluggish pace of Europe's IPO sector, say bankers quoted by rte.ie, who note that Galderma went public just a day after the ill-received listing of German cosmetics retailer Douglas.

Galderma's debut on the Zurich Stock Exchange marked the largest initial public offering (IPO) in Europe since the listing of German car company Porsche in September 2022. Its long-awaited listing came as European companies valued at billions dollars are preparing for the IPO. In the given conditions, the pessimism of investors generated by the fact that Douglas shares fell by more than 12% after the debut has been mitigated.

"Sentiment towards IPOs in Europe is positive now, and the transactions prepared for the second quarter, respectively for the second semester, are expected to be launched according to plan", said Antoine de Guillenchmidt, co -head of the capital markets division for Europe, the Middle East and Africa within Goldman Sachs. He worked on the Galderma and Douglas IPOs.

The trading of the two private equity firms was closely watched by bankers and investors after global IPO issuance fell in 2023 for the second year in a row. Private equity firms were left with $3.2 trillion in unsold assets, limiting the return of capital to their investors and having a "chilling" effect on the fundraising market, analysts at Bain & Co. said.

But with central banks signaling an end to interest rate hikes, the stock market is becoming more attractive, according to the cited source.

"Large private equity-backed deals are a signal that the IPO markets are receptive," said Markus Meier, head of the division at Bank of America.

Europe has already seen some success stories this year. German transmission maker Renk Group AG, the first newcomer to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2024, has nearly doubled its issue price of 15 euros since its debut in February. Renk's IPO was one of several postponed last fall amid interest rate uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, according to the source.

After Renk's debut, Douglas and Galderma accelerated their IPOs to take advantage of the positive mood in the markets. Douglas, a company owned by CVC, raised 850 million euros, money needed to reduce its debts. The offer had a price of 26 euros, but the share price fell to almost 22 euros.

EQT-backed Galderma raised about two billion francs ($2.23 billion). The initial opening price was 61 francs per share, giving the company a market capitalization of around 14.5 billion francs. The IPO price was 53 francs, according to Bloomberg.

"We are still in the recovery phase, so we are in a selective environment", claims Martin Thorneycroft, from Morgan Stanley, who handled the Galderma IPO.

According to the quoted source, the private equity firm Permira has prepared the IPO for the Italian luxury brand Golden Goose, and the lender OLB Bank, backed by Apollo, plans to list.

And fuel card provider DKV Mobility - in the CVC portfolio - is waiting to return to the market after delaying its IPO plans last year.