Australian small-business lender Prospa Group Ltd. has shelved its planned IPO indefinitely amid queries raised by the country's corporate regulator over its loan terms, The Australian reported June 7, citing a statement.
The lender's board and its advisers UBS, Macquarie and law firm Herbert Smith Freehills decided that it is "in the best interests of the company and new investors" to delay the listing, the statement showed.
Prospa had originally planned to list June 6 but postponed it until June 8, 15 minutes before it was due to go live on the Australian Securities Exchange. The company did not list that day to clarify queries raised by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as part of an industrywide review into financial services' small-business loan terms.
The lender was looking to list about a 25% stake for A$146.5 million. The shares were priced at A$3.46 apiece, appraising the company at about A$546 million.
