Latitude shelves Australia's biggest IPO of 2019

[MELBOURNE] Latitude Financial Group Ltd, an Australian non-bank consumer lender, is postponing its initial public offering, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The company isn't proceeding with the share sale which could have raised about A$1.04 billion (S$964.4 million), said the person, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. The decision came after the company spent Tuesday lining up potential investors for the share sale.

A representative for Latitude declined to comment. The Australian reported earlier on Tuesday that the listing has been pulled, without attribution.

The company's shares were being offered at A$1.78 each, giving it a valuation of around A$3.2 billion, according to terms of the deal obtained by Bloomberg. The offer price was below an initial indicative range of A$2 to A$2.25.

Latitude's offering would have surpassed Magellan High Conviction Trust's A$862 million IPO as Australia's biggest this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company was scheduled to start trading on Friday.

BLOOMBERG