Trading halt stops OPay shares from opening in New York Stock Exchange after $304m IPO

OPay’s shares did not begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday, October 30, after the Nigeria-focused payments platform raised $304 million in its US initial public offering, Nairametrics reports, citing Bloomberg.

According to Bloomberg, the exchange’s message feed reported a trading halt at 3:30 p.m. with news pending. No executed trades appeared on the feed.

The company had priced 16 million American depositary shares (ADSs) at $19 each, the bottom of its $19 to $21 range. As of 2 p.m. in New York, the ADSs were indicated to open between $16.25 and $16.75, below the IPO price.

Earlier on Friday, a video on the exchange’s X account showed OPay executives ringing the opening bell. The post was no longer available. The Nasdaq 100 fell 3.5% during the session, its worst drop since early June.

Bloomberg did not identify the news behind the halt or say when trading would begin. Nairametrics said other sources told it this was the “first time” in exchange history that an IPO was getting pulled after bell ringing.

The offering is expected to close on November 2, subject to customary conditions. OPay also plans a secondary listing on the Nigerian Exchange Limited after the NYSE listing.