Digicel Group Ltd. canceled its planned $2.3 billion initial public offering citing current conditions, particularly in emerging markets, which the Caribbean’s biggest mobile provider said have hurt deal momentum in recent days.
The Bermuda-based company, owned by Irish telecom billionaire Denis O’Brien, had planned to sell roughly 124 million shares to raise funds to help repay the company’s debt load.
“Given our growth outlook, an IPO for Digicel was optional and predicated on achieving fair value for the company,” Mr. O’Brien said in prepared remarks Tuesday. “Recent volatility in equity markets has seen a number of IPOs listing at a discount to their signaled price range and this was a less attractive route for us.
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Though not a household name in the U.S., Digicel is the biggest mobile and cable provider in many countries in the Caribbean and South Pacific, generating $2.8 billion in revenue in its last fiscal year.
Digicel’s biggest single market is Haiti, with a population of about 10 million.
The cancellation comes after a rough summer for tech IPOs and the worst quarterly stock-market performance since 2011. IPOs can be harder to pull off amid skittishness from investors.
