SoftBank-backed digital payments company OPay Limited has withdrawn its proposed US$304 million initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), following a regulatory inquiry in an undisclosed foreign jurisdiction.
The withdrawal comes hours after the company announced the pricing of its offering on 30 October 2026, marking a last-minute reversal of its planned entry into the US public markets.
In a statement, OPay said it had mutually agreed with the underwriters to terminate the underwriting agreement dated 29 October 2026. Consequently, the offering will not be completed and its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) will not commence trading on the NYSE as scheduled.
OPay described the jurisdiction involved in the inquiry as immaterial to its core business operations but did not identify the regulator or disclose the nature of the investigation. The company said it expected the matter to be resolved satisfactorily in the near future.
It further stated that the inquiry should not be interpreted as reflecting its business performance, financial condition, operational integrity or regulatory standing. Its operations and customer service across Nigeria and its other markets, including Indonesia, Egypt and Pakistan, are expected to continue without disruption.
The withdrawn offering
OPay had priced its IPO at US$19 per ADS, the bottom of its proposed US$19–US$21 price range. The offering comprised 16 million ADSs, representing gross proceeds of US$304 million and an implied equity valuation of approximately US$4 billion.
The offering was being led by Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Standard Bank of South Africa and China International Capital Corporation (CICC) as joint book-running managers, with B. Riley Securities and Needham & Company serving as co-managers.
The transaction also included a proposed concurrent private placement involving Stanbic Africa Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of South Africa's Standard Bank Group. Under a share subscription agreement, Stanbic Africa Holdings had agreed to invest up to US$200 million in OPay, subject to the completion of the IPO and other conditions.
Separately, nine institutional investors had expressed non-binding interest in acquiring up to US$270 million of ADSs at the IPO price. These included Redwheel Group, Coronation Africa Frontiers Fund, Ninety One, Sundt AS and SBVA.
The withdrawal means the proposed IPO proceeds will not be raised under the current offering, while the proposed private placement and institutional allocations will not be completed as originally structured.
Implications for the proposed Nigerian listing
OPay's US listing was also expected to precede a secondary listing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). The company's board and shareholders had approved the proposed Nigerian listing, which was disclosed in its US registration statement.
With the NYSE offering withdrawn, the proposed secondary listing now faces uncertainty, although OPay has not announced that it is abandoning the plan or provided a revised timetable.
Incorporated in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Singapore, OPay operates across several emerging markets, with Nigeria representing its principal market. The company generated US$467.1 million in revenue in the first half of 2026, compared with US$197.5 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
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