LAGOS, Oct 31 – Nigeria-focused fintech OPay has withdrawn its planned $304 million initial public offering in the United States following a regulatory inquiry by an unidentified foreign jurisdiction, halting its expected debut on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company said the inquiry relates to a jurisdiction it considers immaterial to its core operations but did not identify the regulator or disclose the nature of the investigation.
The SoftBank-backed digital payments company OPay had priced 16 million American depositary shares (ADSs) at $19 each, the lower end of its previously announced price range of $19 to $21, valuing the company at approximately $4 billion.
However, its shares did not begin trading on the NYSE as scheduled on Friday, October 30. According to Bloomberg, the exchange’s message feed reported a trading halt with news pending, although no executed trades appeared on the feed.
Following the development, OPay and the IPO underwriters mutually agreed to terminate the underwriting agreement dated October 29, 2026, effectively cancelling the offering.
“As a result, the Offering will not be completed, and the Company’s ADSs will not commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange as previously scheduled,” the company said.
OPay maintained that the inquiry would not affect its business operations, financial condition, operational integrity or regulatory standing in its markets.
“This development has no impact on OPay’s business operations, regulatory standing, or service delivery in Nigeria or any other market in which the Company operates. OPay continues to operate normally and remains fully committed to its customers, merchants, agents, business partners, employees, and the broader digital financial ecosystem across Nigeria, Indonesia, Egypt, and Pakistan,” it said.
The company added that it expected the inquiry to be resolved satisfactorily in the near future, but concluded that postponing the IPO was the most prudent course of action after discussions with the underwriters.
The withdrawal interrupts a planned public listing that would have provided OPay with access to US capital markets as it seeks to expand its digital financial services business across emerging economies.
Founded in 2018, OPay offers payments, money transfers, savings and lending services through a single application. Its platform targets markets where limited access to traditional banking infrastructure creates demand for alternative financial services.
The company was established by Chinese billionaire Yahui Zhou, who also founded Beijing Kunlun Tech, a Chinese gaming company that previously owned dating platform Grindr.
OPay raised $400 million in 2021 at a valuation of $2 billion. Its IPO prospectus reported approximately 50 million monthly active users as of July 31.
Entities affiliated with Japanese investment group SoftBank Group held a 6.6% stake in OPay before the planned offering. SoftBank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Standard Bank and China International Capital Corporation (CICC) were among the underwriters for the proposed listing.
OPay’s withdrawal comes amid a broader slowdown in IPO activity, with persistent inflation and a selloff in artificial intelligence-related stocks weighing on investor sentiment. Several companies have delayed listing plans in recent weeks as market volatility and valuation concerns have made public offerings more difficult to execute.
Although OPay said the inquiry would not affect its operations in Nigeria or its other markets, the cancellation leaves its planned entry into the US public markets on hold.
