Monthly IPO Roundup: February 2026 — January's Biggest Listings

Three IPOs defined January 2026. Aktis Oncology raised $318 million to kick off 2026's biotech window. Venture Global LNG raised $1.75 billion on January 24 in the largest-ever energy sector IPO by an LNG producer — and then opened below its offer price. York Space Systems raised $629 million on January 29, valuing the satellite maker at $4.75 billion and signalling that defense and space stocks could attract serious institutional interest in the year ahead.

The contrast tells you what investors were and were not willing to pay up for in January. Cancer biotech with Phase 1 data, yes, at double the expected proceeds. An LNG exporter with active contract arbitration disputes, yes, but not at the price it wanted. A space-and-defense manufacturer serving the Pentagon's satellite proliferation programme, yes, at the top of the range.

This is our February 2026 edition of the monthly IPO roundup, covering companies that went public in January. For the December 2025 IPO recap — including Medline's record $7.2 billion healthcare listing — see Monthly IPO Roundup: January 2026.

Aktis Oncology: Biotech Opens the 2026 Window

Aktis Oncology (NASDAQ: AKTS) priced its IPO on January 8, 2026, raising $318 million after selling 17.65 million shares at $18 per share. The original target was $182 million. Eli Lilly participated directly as an investor in the offering, giving institutional credibility to a company with only Phase 1 clinical data.

Aktis is a radiopharmaceutical developer. It designs drugs that deliver targeted radiation directly to solid tumours using a radioactive isotope attached to a tumour-seeking molecule. The company's lead programme targets multiple cancer types. Radiopharmaceuticals had attracted significant M&A interest in 2024 and 2025, with Eli Lilly's 2023 acquisition of Point Biopharma for $1.4 billion and Bristol Myers Squibb's $4.1 billion acquisition of RayzeBio establishing the category as a genuine strategic priority for large pharma.

The Aktis IPO raised nearly double its target, underwriters exercised all overallotment options, and the stock traded above its offer price in the days after listing. It was, by the standards of a January biotech IPO with no revenue and early-stage data, a strong outcome.

What it means for brand and industry ownership: Aktis going public means its shares now trade freely. No consumer brand is directly at stake, but the IPO matters because it reopened the biotech public market window that had been largely closed through 2024. The BioPharma Dive analysis from January 8 described Aktis as the deal that proved the biotech IPO window could reopen in 2026. That proved correct. Five biotechs raised a combined $1.4 billion in February alone.

Venture Global LNG: Record Energy IPO, Underwhelming Debut

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE: VG) priced on January 24, 2026, raising $1.75 billion at $25 per share — the largest IPO in US energy history for a liquefied natural gas producer. At pricing, the implied enterprise value was approximately $110 billion, putting Venture Global among the largest publicly traded US energy companies immediately.

The stock opened below its offer price. Reuters reported on January 24 that shares opened nearly 4% below the $25 offer price in the first minutes of trading. By day's end, the stock recovered partially but still closed below offer.

Why the underwhelm? Venture Global had built two major LNG export terminals on the US Gulf Coast, Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines LNG, turning the US into the world's top LNG exporter by volume. The company had long-term supply contracts with major European and Asian buyers. But those same customers had initiated contract arbitration cases alleging that Venture Global was diverting LNG from contractual deliveries to the spot market, where prices had been higher. The arbitration overhang, involving BP, Shell, Repsol, and others, kept institutional investors cautious on valuation.

For brand and industry ownership, Venture Global's listing matters because it transferred control of critical US energy export infrastructure from private hands. Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners and Stonepeak Credit were major pre-IPO investors. The company controls multiple gigawatts of LNG capacity that European energy security depends on.

York Space Systems: Defense and Satellite Manufacturing Goes Public

York Space Systems (NYSE: YSS) priced on January 29, 2026, raising $629 million after selling 18.5 million shares at $34 — at the top of the marketed range. The company was valued at approximately $4.75 billion at pricing.

York designs and manufactures small-to-medium satellites for the US Department of Defense and commercial customers. Its key product is the S-CLASS satellite bus, a standardised platform that the Pentagon uses for its proliferated satellite constellation programme, the Space Development Agency's Transport Layer. The company's revenue was growing rapidly as the US military committed to deploying thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit for communications and surveillance.

The stock rose further on its first day of trading. Reuters quoted IPOX Research on January 29: "The listing suggests that the market is open for new defense and space stocks in 2026, which is especially relevant for the planned SpaceX listing."

For brand and industry ownership: York Space is not a consumer brand. But its IPO is significant context for how capital is allocating in 2026. Defense, space, and AI infrastructure attracted the year's best first-day performance in January, while consumer-facing IPOs paused. When consumer brand companies look to IPO in 2026 and 2027, they are competing for institutional attention against this backdrop.

Other January 2026 Listings: A Quiet First Half of the Month

The first two weeks of January were quiet by IPO standards. Seeking Alpha's weekly recap from January 30 noted that the week ending January 30 — which included York Space — was defined by four traditional IPOs and ten SPACs. Before York, the month's activity was dominated by smaller issuers and blank-check companies.

The IPO market summary for January 2026:

Source: Reuters, Bloomberg, Renaissance Capital. Data as of January 31, 2026.

The Broader Context: What January 2026 Signals

January 2026 was not about volume. It was about signalling. Three successful pricings — even with Venture Global's disappointing debut — confirmed that the IPO market window was open heading into February. The demand for Aktis at double its target proved biotech investors were willing to deploy capital. York's top-of-range pricing proved defense and space could command institutional interest.

The sectors that were notably absent from January's list: consumer brands, retail, food and beverage, fintech, and SaaS. These were the sectors where the largest anticipated 2026 IPOs sat: Discord, Plaid, and Shein were all building toward later quarters. January set the tone without delivering the deals the market was most waiting for.

Withdrawn and Delayed in January 2026

Not every deal made it through. Clear Street, a Wall Street brokerage and clearing firm founded in 2018, withdrew its US IPO filing in early February 2026 after trimming its price range. This was a pullback driven by software-sector sell-off concerns spilling into fintech-adjacent deals. Motive, a commercial fleet management SaaS company that had filed its S-1 in December 2025, paused its IPO marketing in January per The Information, choosing to wait for better market conditions.

These withdrawals were signals too: investors were selective. Demand existed for the right deals, but weak comps or uncertain unit economics were getting cut.

Deals to Watch in February 2026

Forgent Power Solutions. The Dayton, Minnesota-based manufacturer of electrical distribution equipment serving data centres was preparing for a February listing. Analysts expected a $1.5 billion deal. Update: Forgent priced on February 5 at $27 per share, raising exactly $1.5 billion, and shares rose 7.4% on the first day.

PayPay Corp. SoftBank's Japanese digital payments app, the dominant QR-code payment platform in Japan, was preparing to file publicly for a US Nasdaq listing. Update: PayPay filed February 12 and priced in March, raising $880 million in what became the largest-ever US listing by a Japanese company.

Biotech pipeline. Five biotech companies were in various stages of SEC review following Aktis's success. Generate Biomedicines, the AI drug discovery company backed by Flagship Pioneering, was the most-watched.

FAQ

What was the biggest IPO of January 2026?

By proceeds, Venture Global LNG raised $1.75 billion — the largest energy IPO in US history by an LNG producer. By first-day performance, York Space Systems performed best, pricing at the top of its range and rising further.

Why did Venture Global LNG open below its offer price?

The LNG exporter had active contract arbitration cases from major European buyers — BP, Shell, and Repsol among them — who alleged that Venture Global diverted contracted LNG to the spot market when prices were higher. This legal overhang suppressed institutional demand at the offer price.

Is Aktis Oncology a consumer brand?

No. Aktis Oncology is a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company developing cancer treatments. It is not a consumer brand in the retail or packaged goods sense. Its IPO is tracked here because public listings change the ownership and accountability structure of companies — and because biotech IPOs in early 2026 directly influenced the appetite for other sectors' listings throughout the year.

Related Reading

• Monthly IPO Roundup: January 2026
• Monthly IPO Roundup: March 2026
• Monthly M&A Roundup: March 2026
• Biggest Brand Deals of Q1 2026

Sources

1. BioPharma Dive: Aktis Raises $318M in 2026's First Biotech IPO — https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/aktis-biotech-ipo-radiopharmaceutical-cancer/809066/ 2. Bloomberg: York Space Systems Raises $629 Million in Upsized IPO — https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-28/york-space-systems-raises-629-million-in-upsized-us-ipo 3. Reuters: York Space Valued at $4.75 Billion in NYSE Debut — https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/york-space-valued-48-billion-shares-rise-nyse-debut-2026-01-29/ 4. Reuters: Venture Global's $58 Billion Market Debut Falls Short — https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/venture-global-debut-test-appetite-energy-ipos-after-trumps-policy-pivot-2025-01-24/ 5. Renaissance Capital: US IPO Weekly Recap — Aktis Oncology leads as first sizable 2026 IPO — https://www.renaissancecapital.com/IPO-Center/News/116073/US-IPO-Weekly-Recap-Aktis-Oncology-leads-as-first-sizable-2026-IPO 6. PwC US Capital Markets Watch Q1 2026 — https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/deals/us-capital-markets-watch.html

All brand ownership and IPO data verified through WhoBrands.com research methodology. Last updated: February 1, 2026.