The IPO cancellations in part are seen as a reflection of a weakening global economy, and also cast doubt on the solidity of some disruptive businesses. While Asian deals have also suffered from the political protests in Hong Kong.
Here is a list of the most notable companies across the world to have pulled the plug on their IPOs in 2019:
- The We Company (WE), owner of office-sharing startup WeWork, scrapped its IPO in September, as concerns around the sustainability of its business model led to a lackluster response from investors.
- Endeavor Group (EDR): Endeavor Group Holdings, the U.S. entertainment and talent agency company backed by Hollywood power-broker Ari Emanuel, abandoned its IPO in September following weak stock market investor demand.
- Inhibrx (INBX) has withdrawn its IPO registration statement. It filed a preliminary prospectus four months ago. (Nov 2019)
- GFL Environmental (GFL): Waste management company GFL Environmental said earlier in November that it would cancel its initial public offering, with no immediate plans to revisit the markets, after institutional investors pressed the Canadian firm to price its shares below the marketed range.
** Italian luxury yacht maker Ferretti decided to pull its initial stock offering in mid October, as it was not satisfied with the price offered by investors. The yachtmaker's chief executive officer later said it plans to bring on board a European private investor.
** Private equity giant KKR & Co and its partners pulled a planned A$1 billion ($690.70 million) offering for lender Latitude Financial last month, which had been set to be Australia's biggest listing of the year.
** KKR and TPG Capital also canceled the IPO of Southeast Asia online realty company PropertyGuru, which had expected to raise up to A$380.2 million.
** Bitmain Technologies, the world's largest designer of products for mining cryptocurrencies, let its application for a Hong Kong IPO of at least $3 billion lapse in March, amid fears of price volatility as well as high-profile hacks and infrastructure failures.
