(Bloomberg) -- A rush of listings by travel and leisure companies is set to reopen the market for European initial public offerings this year.

Concert organizer DEAG Deutsche Entertainment AG’s plan to float its stock again in Frankfurt is just the latest in a slew of potential such deals after a lull since the pandemic.

Firms including Greyhound-owner Flix SE and Air Baltic are contemplating flotations of their own, showing how companies that suffered during the pandemic are finally aiming to go public. Athens International Airport and Air Astana also announced IPOs in January.

These potential listings would capitalize on a rebound in Europe’s travel and leisure industry after the pandemic brought tourism and events such as concerts and sports to an abrupt halt. Many people have now reverted to pre-pandemic habits, with concert demand booming in the past year as audiences flocked to see shows by stars like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Madonna.

“I think it’s the right moment to do it,” said Julien Richer, an analyst covering the travel and leisure sector at Kepler Cheuvreux. He said that the surprising resilience of travel in 2023 is likely to endure through 2024 and to be further boosted by events such as the Olympics in Paris and the UEFA Euro 2024 football championships in Germany.

“From the perspective of primary markets, operators are now thinking ‘I have now a shooting window to float my business’,” Richer said. 

Sector Upturn 

Other potential new listings include tourism company Hotelbeds, and Restaurant Brands Iberia SA, the operator of Burger King and Popeyes in Spain and Portugal.

The revival in IPO activity in the sector comes amid an upturn in travel and leisure stocks, which have lagged the broader market since the pandemic but are now showing some signs of catching up. They are the fourth-best performing sector in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index year-to-date and have rallied to a five-month high.

DEAG, which first went public in 1998 and delisted in 2021 as the entertainment industry was hit by Covid restrictions, would raise about €40 million to €50 million ($44 million to $55 million) and also sell some stock of existing shareholders. It will use the money to expand its high-margin ticketing business and live entertainment. 

Despite the signs of a rebound in the sector, travel and leisure stocks can still face headwinds. One of the few which listed in Europe in 2023, Italian yacht maker Ferretti, whose stock was already trading in Hong Kong, has fallen below last June’s starting price.

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