Ammunition supplier, Neuralink competitor and cryptocurrency exchange: highlights of the IPO by Jan. 18

Czechoslovak Group (CSG), a leading supplier to Ukraine's armed forces, is preparing for potentially the largest IPO in the history of the defense sector in the "coming weeks." Chinese neuroimplant developer BrainCo, a competitor of Elon Musk's Neuralink, has decided to go public in Hong Kong. Crypto exchange Bitpanda, in which billionaire Peter Thiel has invested, may list in Frankfurt in the first quarter. The main events on the IPO market during the week are in our selection.

- One of Europe's largest munitions manufacturers Czechoslovak Group (CSG) has announced a listing on the Euronext exchange in Amsterdam in the "coming weeks", the British newspaper Financial Times reported. CSG plans to sell €750 million worth of new shares and some existing securities on the exchange. Reuters sources estimated the possible volume of the offering at more than €3 billion, in which case CSG's IPO would be the largest in the history of the defense industry, the agency stated. CSG produces ammunition and military equipment, among its key customers is Ukraine. Shares of European defense companies hit an all-time high in January amid rising global tensions from Venezuela and Greenland to Iran.

- Chinese startup BrainCo, positioned as a competitor to Musk's brain implant developer Neuralink, has applied for an IPO in Hong Kong, its interlocutors told Bloomberg. BrainCo began preparing for the listing as the first of the so-called Hangzhou Six, a group of promising tech startups from that city that includes DeepSeek. According to sources, the company plans to raise several hundred million dollars in the offering. BrainCo creates non-invasive neural interfaces and bionic prostheses, unlike Neuralink not using implantable chips. The startup recently raised 2 billion yuan ($287 million) from a group of investors led by Hong Kong-based IDG Capital and Walden International of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.

- Cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda, invested in by billionaire Peter Thiel, plans to hold an IPO in Frankfurt in the first half of 2026, according to Bloomberg sources. According to them, the Viennese startup does not rule out a listing in the first quarter and expects a capitalization of €4-5 billion. At the round of fundraising in 2021, Bitpanda was valued at $4.1 billion. The client base of the trading platform has 7 million users, the company is the official cryptocurrency partner of the English soccer club Arsenal.

- Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng may float its flying car division, Xpeng Aeroht, on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2026, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. Aeroht is building a factory in the People's Republic of China to produce components of its Land Aircraft Carrier project, a hybrid of an SUV and a two-seat electric aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing. Deliveries are scheduled to begin later this year. There are already competitors in the sector: in spring 2025, Nasdaq-listed EHang received approval from the Chinese regulator for unmanned air cabs.

- Odido, the largest mobile operator in the Netherlands, may apply for an IPO in Amsterdam as early as next week, Reuters reported citing sources. According to them, during the listing, the owners of the operator - funds Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus - may raise about € 1 billion. Previously, the company was known as T-Mobile Netherlands. The current owners acquired the business in 2021 for €5.1 billion. They planned to float Odido on the stock exchange in 2025, but postponed the plans due to market turmoil caused by U.S. duties.

- American manufacturer of ventilation systems Madison Air intends to raise at least $2 bln in the framework of IPO in the USA, Bloomberg sources say. The application for listing became known in December. Madison Air was formed by the holding company Madison Industries through a series of acquisitions that began in 2017. The company now includes more than 20 divisions and employs more than 8,000 people. Madison Air brands offer air quality management solutions for residential and commercial facilities. The equipment is used in data centers, manufacturing, education, and healthcare.

- The return on speculative trades in shares of Japanese companies on their debut day on the stock exchange fell to the lowest since 2012. According to Bloomberg, the median profit of investors who sold securities at the beginning of trading in 2025 amounted to 26.3%. At the same time, by the close of the first session, quotations grew by an average of 29.5% relative to the IPO price. Professor of Keio University Takashi Kaneko associated this trend with the emergence of quality issuers in the market, whose shares investors prefer to keep in the portfolio, rather than resell almost immediately after purchase.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor