Factbox: Failure to launch - The biggest IPO pull-outs of 2019

Reuters
Updated

(Reuters) - Private companies seeking to launch on stock markets have abandoned a series of initial public offerings (IPO) this year after a string of high-profile startups — most notably WeWork — failed to draw the expected interest from investors.

The cancellations in part are seen as a reflection of a weakening global economy, but have cast doubt on the solidity of some disruptive businesses, while Asian deals have also suffered from the political protests in Hong Kong.

Following is a list of some of the most notable companies across the world to have pulled the plug on IPOs in 2019:

** The We Company, 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 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.

** Waste management company GFL Environmental said 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.

** Canadian mine financing company Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp <TFPM.TO> this month withdrew a planned initial public offering, citing difficult market conditions.

** Home Credit, controlled by the Czech Republic's richest businessman Petr Kellner, dropped plans last month for a Hong Kong listing seen valued at around $1 billion after the consumer lender struggled to achieve its hoped-for valuation.

** 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 <KKR.N> and its partners in October pulled a planned A$1 billion ($678.60 million) offering for lender Latitude Financial, 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.

** Household appliances maker JS Global Lifestyle has pulled its initial public offering of up to HK$3.62 billion ($462.63 million), two sources told Reuters in October.

** Alight, the Blackstone Group-backed HR consultant, elected to postpone its IPO indefinitely in March after declining to accept a discounted valuation.

(Reporting by C Nivedita and Bharath Manjesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)