IPOs Are a Year Away for Tech Startups, KKR Deal-Makers Say

For tech startups that were eyeing going public this year, the market for initial public offerings has slammed shut—and the deal-makers looking to build out Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.’s equity capital markets business don’t see that changing anytime soon. In fact, they see the IPO window opening for tech startups in the first quarter of 2023 at the earliest, with many likely bleeding into the second quarter.

“There are too many macroeconomic unknowns that need to be solved before the market and investors will start looking back towards the IPO,” said David Bauer, who heads KKR’s equity capital markets team, in an interview from the firm’s New York headquarters.

In the meantime, KKR expects more late-stage startups to tap a combination of debt and equity financing—similar to how Airbnb landed a lifeline at the start of the pandemic before eventually going public in late 2020.