OPay Ltd., a Nigeria-focused payments platform, halted an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange that was supposed to start trading on Friday, citing a regulatory inquiry.
“The company is confident that the inquiry will be concluded satisfactorily in the near future,” OPay said in a statement on Saturday. It said the inquiry related to “a jurisdiction that is immaterial to the company’s core business operations,” but didn’t provide further details.
“After careful consideration and discussions with the underwriters, the company determined that not proceeding with the offering at this time would be the most prudent course of action,” the company said.
“As a result, the offering will not be completed, and the company’s ADSs will not commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange as previously scheduled.”
The sudden withdrawal halts what was set to be one of the highest-profile emerging-market fintech listings in New York this year — one that was expected to debut at a valuation of about $4 billion.
The company’s American Depositary Receipts were indicated to open at $16.25 to $16.75 each as of 2 p.m. on Friday in New York, the day after OPay priced the ADRs at $19 each. But they didn’t begin trading as expected.
The New York Stock Exchange’s message feed reported a trading halt at 3:30 p.m. with news pending, though no executed trades appeared on the feed.
Opay’s IPO was led by Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank AG and Standard Bank, according to an earlier statement.
Standard Bank refered requests for comment back to the company. Citi declined to comment and Deutsche Bank didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“OPay wishes to emphasize that this development should not be misconstrued as a reflection on the company’s business performance, financial condition, operational integrity, or regulatory standing,” the company said in its statement.
“The matter relates to an inquiry in a foreign jurisdiction, which is being addressed through the appropriate channels.”
OPay is a dominant player in Nigeria’s fast growing digital payments sector, with more than 50 million users. The company said its long-term commitment to Nigeria was unwavering, and that it will continue to deepen its investments in Africa’s most populous nation.
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