Softbank-backed Oneconnect slashes IPO and lowers valuation
Chinese fintech Oneconnect has slashed its target valuation and downsized its planned initial public offering (IPO) in the US, in yet another blow for Softbank.
The fintech, which is a subsidiary of Chinese insurance giant Ping An, downsized its planned stock market debut in New York by 28 per cent.
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The lowered valuation is another setback for Japanese investment giant Softbank, which has been hit by a series of soured bets recently.
These include major portfolio holding Wework, which the company recently bailed out in a $9.5bn (£7.2bn) rescue package after it abandoned a planned IPO.
In a stock exchange filing on Thursday, Oneconnect downsized its offering from 36 American depositary shares to 26 million.
The company also set a price range of $9 to $10 per share for its IPO, down from the range of $12 to $14 it had set previously.
The upper end of the new price range values Oneconnect at around $3.64bn. The figure is significantly below the $7.5bn valuation the fintech achieved last year when it raised $750m in its maiden funding round.
Softbank recently reported its first quarterly loss in 14 years, dragged down by an $8.9bn hit to its mammoth Vision Fund, which has backed Oneconnect.
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Several other potential stock market listings have been pushed back since Wework’s abortive IPO attempt, with some investment bankers concerned the trend could continue into 2020.
Some 44 firms had pulled their US IPO registrations as of 3 December, an almost 50 per cent increase on the previous year and the highest level since 2018, according to research by Renaissance Capital.