OPay’s planned $304 million New York Stock Exchange listing collapsed following a last-minute regulatory inquiry in China, disrupting a major fundraising exercise for the Nigeria-focused fintech and delaying an important opportunity for investors, including SoftBank, to realise returns from their investment, according to Bloomberg report.
The company had priced its initial public offering at $19 per share, the bottom of its marketed $19 to $21 range, valuing the African payments business at approximately $4 billion. It planned to raise the funds through the sale of 16 million American depositary shares before unexpectedly terminating the offering ahead of its scheduled trading debut under the ticker OPAY.
The intervention is particularly significant because OPay generates the overwhelming majority of its business in Nigeria and has no material operations, headquarters or revenue in mainland China. Its exposure to the country is largely associated with its founder, Chinese businessman Yahui Zhou, who previously founded Beijing Kunlun Tech and has business links to Opera.
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In regulatory disclosures, OPay described the inquiry as involving a foreign jurisdiction it considered immaterial to its core operations. Although it did not explicitly identify China or disclose the specific concerns raised, the company maintained that the matter should not be interpreted as reflecting negatively on its financial condition, business performance or regulatory standing in its operating markets.
OPay also indicated confidence that the issue would be resolved satisfactorily in the near term, adding that its operations and customer services in Nigeria and other markets remained unaffected.
However, the timing of the inquiry exposed the vulnerability of the company’s international fundraising plans to regulatory developments outside its principal markets.
OPay and its underwriters, including Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Standard Bank and China International Capital Corporation, mutually agreed to terminate the underwriting agreement. A related private placement involving Standard Bank interests, potentially worth up to $200 million, was also disrupted.
For SoftBank and other investors, the aborted listing represents a setback in converting OPay’s growth into publicly traded investment value. The Japanese investment group backed the fintech as part of its broader exposure to high-growth technology businesses, with OPay emerging as one of Africa’s most prominent digital finance platforms.
OPay raised $400 million in 2021 at a $2 billion valuation. Its subsequent expansion into payments, transfers, savings and lending has strengthened its position in Nigeria’s digital financial services market, where it serves tens of millions of monthly active users.
The proposed IPO would have doubled its previous valuation and provided fresh capital for expansion while creating a public-market benchmark for its investors to assess their holdings.
The collapse also highlights a growing complication for African technology companies seeking international capital: corporate exposure to regulatory jurisdictions can extend beyond where they generate revenue or operate.
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China has tightened oversight of overseas listings, data security and businesses connected to Chinese founders and investors. OPay’s prospectus had reportedly addressed the question of Chinese regulatory approvals, with advisers concluding that none were required because the company lacked mainland Chinese operating assets and revenue.
The late-stage inquiry nevertheless overturned those expectations, raising questions about how international investors and underwriters assess regulatory exposure when companies have cross-border ownership or founder connections.
For African fintechs, the implications could extend beyond OPay. Companies with Chinese founders or historical investor relationships may face more extensive regulatory scrutiny and due diligence before accessing US capital markets, potentially increasing listing costs and uncertainty.
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Royal Ibeh is a senior journalist with years of experience reporting on Nigeria’s technology and health sectors. She currently covers the Technology and Health beats for BusinessDay newspaper, where she writes in-depth stories on digital innovation, telecom infrastructure, healthcare systems, and public health policies.
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