Global equities rout bites hard as more firms drop IPO plans

Firms deterred by adverse conditions as stocks in Asia and Europe drop amid bearish US market

The volatility in global equity markets derailed more companies’ plans for initial public offerings as stocks in Asia and Europe dropped yesterday and US equity futures pointed to further declines.

OCC Cables Ltd on Friday said it will no longer proceed with an IPO in Hong Kong due to adverse market conditions.

Vehicle fleet operator LeasePlan Corp fell victim on Thursday, citing market conditions for its decision to abandon an IPO that could have valued it at as much as €7.4 billion ($8.1 billion; Dh31.4 billion).

Sonae SGPS SA on Thursday said it wouldn’t proceed with the €412 million IPO of its Sonae MC unit, owner of Portugal’s biggest supermarket chain, “due to current adverse conditions in international markets.”

Tencent Music Entertainment Group, the online-music arm of China’s largest socialmedia company, is also pausing its plans for an IPO in the US, a person with knowledge of the matter said last week.

Porsche AG’s chief financial officer said a share sale of Volkswagen AG’s most profitable unit could see the sports-car maker valued at as much as €70 billion.

Kazakhstan’s National Atomic Company Kazatomprom, the world’s largest producer of natural uranium, is considering a London IPO and said it plans to publish its registration document on Monday. SoftBank Group Corp. has picked banks, including Nomura Holdings, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, as lead underwriters for a 3 trillion yen (Dh98.1 billion) IPO of its Japanese wireless business, sources said on Friday.