By Niket Nishant
(Reuters) -Shares of Corebridge Financial Inc opened 2% below the IPO price in their New York Stock Exchange debut on Thursday, giving the company a valuation of $13.2 billion, dimming hopes of a revival in U.S. listings as market turmoil dents investor confidence.
The lukewarm reception to the biggest U.S. IPO so far this year comes against the backdrop of a global market turmoil that has shaved billions off corporate valuations.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and U.S. inflation that is hovering at a 40-year high have dampened investor sentiment and dried up the IPO market in 2022.
Greek yogurt maker Chobani, which was seeking a valuation of $10 billion according to sources, scrapped its IPO plans this month, citing market conditions.
The pipeline for companies looking to go public remains healthy and includes several large tech startups such as Reddit, Instacart and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)'s Mobileye (F:0ME). But companies have been forced to wait out this period of runaway inflation and aggressive rate hikes that have hammered Wall Street this year.
"Profitability and stable business models will likely still be king in investors' minds in the near term," said Avery Spear, senior data analyst at Renaissance Capital, adding that Corebridge's targeted valuation was more modest than anticipated due to challenging market conditions.
The $1.68 billion raised in the IPO will go to Corebridge's parent, insurer American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG), and the new company is not raising capital, according to regulatory filings.
The listing marks the culmination of a years-long effort from AIG, which first announced the decision to separate its life insurance and retirement businesses from its property and casualty operations in 2020.
Shares opened at $20.50 each, below their offer price of $21 apiece.
The IPO was underwritten by more than three dozen investment banks, led by J.P. Morgan, Citigroup (NYSE:C), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Piper Sandler.