TPG surges 14% in public debut after first major IPO of the year values the private equity giant at $10 billion

• TPG stock jumped as much as 14% in its debut on Thursday, becoming the biggest IPO so far this year.
• The private equity firm priced its IPO at $29.50 per share, giving it an initial valuation of about $9 billion.
•  TPG has $109 billion in assets under management and more than 280 portfolio companies.
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Private equity giant TPG surged as much as 14% in its trading debut on Thursday, giving the firm a valuation of more than $10 billion.

The firm priced its IPO at $29.50 per share, selling 33.9 million shares to raise about $1 billion in proceeds at a more than $9 billion valuation. That makes it the biggest IPO so far this year. The IPO price represented the midpoint of TPG’s estimated price range between $28 and $31 per share.

Shares hit a high of $33.50 in its first minute of trades. The stock trades under the ticker symbol “TPG” on the Nasdaq exchange. 

TPG was founded as Texas Pacific Group in 1992 and found its first big success when it bought Continental Airlines out of bankruptcy and turned around the company. From there, the company has invested in several companies that have since gone public like Airbnb and Spotify, and has more than 280 active portfolio companies.

The IPO is being closely watched by investment bankers, as recent market weakness has put on hold what was a busy IPO market last year. On Wednesday, software firm Justworks postponed its IPO, citing market conditions. 

TPG has long toyed with the idea of going public and now joins private equity rivals Blackstone, KKR, and Carlyle Group, among others, with stock listings. But TPG’s size pales in comparison to the $731 billion managed by Blackstone and KKR’s $459 billion.

Still, TPG’s small size shouldn’t stop it from being gobbled up by investors who may be hoping for the similar returns of other public private equity firms. Over the past year, Blackstone, KKR, and Carlyle Group outperformed the S&P 500 by 75, 53, and 37 percentage points, respectively.