By Adedapo Adesanya
SoftBank-backed digital payments company, OPay, has withdrawn its planned $304 million initial public offering (IPO) in the United States following a regulatory inquiry by an unidentified foreign jurisdiction.
The Nigeria-focused fintech company announced the withdrawal on Friday, hours after disclosing that it had priced 16 million American depositary shares at $19 each, the lower end of its proposed price range of $19 to $21 per share.
The offering was expected to value the company at approximately $4 billion.
In a statement, OPay said the decision followed a regulatory inquiry involving a foreign jurisdiction which it described as immaterial to its core operations.
The company did not disclose the identity of the regulator or the nature of the investigation but expressed confidence that the matter would be resolved satisfactorily in the near future.
OPay said the inquiry should not be interpreted as a reflection of its business performance, financial condition, operational integrity or regulatory standing.
It also maintained that the development would not affect its operations, regulatory standing or customer services in Nigeria and other markets where it operates.
Founded in 2018, OPay provides digital financial services across emerging markets, including Nigeria and Indonesia. Its services include payments, money transfers, savings and loans.
The company was founded by Chinese billionaire Yahui Zhou, who also established Beijing Kunlun Tech, a Chinese gaming company that previously owned dating platform Grindr.
OPay raised $400 million in 2021 at a valuation of $2 billion. According to its IPO prospectus, the fintech had approximately 50 million monthly active users as of July 31, 2026.
Japanese technology investment firm, SoftBank Group, whose entities held a 6.6 per cent stake in OPay before the proposed offering, did not immediately comment on the withdrawal.
The company had planned to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘OPay’, with Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Standard Bank and CICC among the underwriters.
