Double blow to London as Cobalt Holdings abandons IPO
Cobalt Holdings has abandoned its plans for a $230m float on the London Stock Exchange, issuing a double blow to UK markets after losing Wise to the US today.
The company confirmed in a brief London Stock Exchange notice that it “will not proceed with its proposed initial public offering”, dashing hopes for what would have been the UK’s largest IPO in over a year.
Glencore was set to be a cornerstone investor, with a 10 per cent stake in Cobalt Holdings, while Anchorage had also been brought on as a key backer.
Planned by the co-founder of uranium firm Yellow Cake Jake Greenberg, the company was looking to buy up to $200m of Cobalt from Glencore in a six-year supply deal.
Greenberg previously headed up natural resource sales at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and is currently in charge of commodity sector consultancy Sage Enterprises.
His other company Yellow Cake was listed in 2018, and is currently valued at £1.1bn.
While no reason was provided for Cobalt Holdings dropping its listing plans, Reuters reported that the process was halted as a result of lack of investor demand, and management was looking to explore options such as funding the business privately.
Double blow to London
The news comes after money transfer firm Wise announced this morning it would be transferring its primary listing to the US.
The UK fintech’s new proposal included a dual listing in the UK and US, but with America as a primary base.
Wise said transferring its main listing would “provide a potential pathway to inclusion in major US indices, further enhancing liquidity and demand for Wise shares”.
“While Wise is not initially expected to be eligible for these indices, a US primary listing provides the opportunity to work towards this inclusion,” the firm added.
Earlier this week, drugmaker Invidior said it intended to abandon its London listing to focus on its primary listing in the US.
In addition, fast-fashion giant Shein is now working towards a Hong Kong IPO after failing to secure approval from Chinese regulators for its London listing.