Lincoln International stated on Monday that it is targeting a valuation of up to around $2 billion in its initial public offering in New York, which could be one of the largest IPOs of an American investment bank in over two decades.
The Chicago-based specialized investment bank and selling shareholders are seeking to raise up to $421 million in this IPO by offering nearly 21 million shares at a price ranging between $18 and $20 each.
The IPO market has seen a strong resurgence this spring after a brief lull in March, with issuers pushing forward with their IPO plans despite geopolitical uncertainties.
“It only took the IPO window to crack slightly for companies to rush in to take advantage,” said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, an IPO-focused research and ETF trading provider.
However, he cautioned that “the IPO window seems somewhat precarious” with the war in Iran weighing on markets and investors being “quick to dump their shares if any cracks appear.”
Founded in 1996 by Jim Lawson and Rob Barr, Lincoln is an intermediary market-focused investment bank that advises private capital markets on company sales and acquisitions, raising funds, and evaluating their organization or portfolio.
Operating from over 30 offices across 14 countries, Lincoln had approximately 1,400 professionals as of December 31.
Lincoln, whose order book reached a record level as of December 31, reported a net income of $1.9 million on revenue of $157.8 million for the quarter ending March 31, compared to a net income of $24 million on revenue of $132.2 million in the prior year.
Rare IPO of an Investment Bank
IPOs of investment banks in New York have been rare over the past two decades, and Lincoln’s offering is expected to be among the largest since Lazard’s IPO in 2005. Moelis and Houlihan Lokey went public in New York through traditional IPOs in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
More recently, Perella Weinberg Partners went public in New York in 2021 through a merger with Betsy Cohen’s blank-check company.
Lincoln’s offering also comes at an opportune time for M&A advisors as transactions continue to accelerate in 2026, supported by a more favorable regulatory environment in the United States.
Nearly $2 trillion in transactions have been announced since the beginning of the year, a 33% increase from the same period last year, according to Dealogic data.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the lead underwriters for the IPO. Lincoln will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “LCLN.”
