Market history · New issues ·
Ant Group's record IPO is suspended days before listing
On 3 November 2020, two days before Ant Group was due to begin trading in Shanghai and Hong Kong, the Shanghai Stock Exchange suspended its listing, and Ant said the Hong Kong listing would be suspended as well. CNBC reported that Ant had been set to raise just under $34.5 billion, which would have been the largest IPO in history.
The exchange cited significant issues, including changes in the regulatory environment for financial technology. Regulators had earlier summoned Ant's founder Jack Ma and two senior executives for talks. Shares in Alibaba, which owns about a third of Ant, fell more than 5% in US premarket trading.
The suspension came after investors had placed record orders, and it showed how a listing can fail at the last moment for regulatory reasons.
The takeaway
A deal is not done until trading starts. Regulatory approval can change even at the last moment.
Sources
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