According to an Ernst & Young quarterly report, the number of U.S. companies withdrawing from the IPO pipeline outnumbered those that went public in the second quarter.

In the quarter, 19 companies withdrew or postponed their offerings, 12 were removed after sitting in the pipeline for over a year, and nine companies reached the public markets.

Only 80 companies remained in the IPO pipeline by the end of the quarter, down from 90 companies at the end of the first quarter. Despite the smaller pipeline, 30 new registrants filed to go public in the quarter, compared to 23 in Q1 2008 and 24 in Q4 2007. Companies in the current pipeline are seeking to raise US$15.5 billion, down from US$17.3 billion at the end of the first quarter.

“Many factors — from high market volatility, the slowdown in the world economy, sustained high oil prices and overall uncertainty — all combined to weaken the IPO pipeline for the second quarter,” said Maria Pinelli, Americas Director, Strategic Growth Markets, Ernst & Young LLP. “Market performance needs to stabilize for at least a quarter before we hope to see stronger IPO pipeline activity.”

According to Jackie Brya Kelley, Americas IPO Leader, Ernst & Young, the average amount of time companies wait in the pipeline has nearly doubled over the past year. “On average, IPOs now in the pipeline have remained there for 170 days,” said Brya Kelley. “Last year at this time, IPOs waited in the pipeline just 98 days on average.”

Technology and biotechnology are still the leading sectors in the current pipeline, though these two industries also represented the most withdrawals. The four asset management companies in the pipeline combined seek to raise the most of any sector with US$2.5 billion.