(Bloomberg) — Billions of dollars worth of acquisitions and initial public offerings are on hold as Donald Trump’s trade war upends the global economy, twisting the knife into a dealmaking market that had already struggled to get going this year.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Ticket platform StubHub Holdings Inc., fintech giant Klarna Bank AB and trading platform eToro Group Ltd. have all pressed pause on planned listings, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. Offerings from adtech group MNTN Inc. and insurer Ategrity Specialty Holdings are also on hold, the people said.
Those delaying listings at least for now include Medline Industries Inc. The medical supply company, which was acquired by Blackstone Inc., Carlyle Group Inc. and Hellman & Friedman in 2021 for $34 billion in one of the largest leveraged buyouts of all time, was seeking to be valued at as much as $50 billion in an IPO, Bloomberg News reported in November.
Their decisions come as markets extend deep losses in the wake of Trump’s move on Wednesday to impose the steepest American tariffs in a century. The S&P 500 fell 6% Friday in its worst day since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. The two-day drubbing since Trump’s announcement wiped out $5.4 trillion in market value.
Follow The Big Take daily podcast wherever you listen.
“The market is justifiably reacting in an aggressive way,” said Jeremy Abelson, founder and portfolio manager at Irving Investors. “A company would be irresponsible to go out in this environment.”
A senior executive working in the IPO industry said they expected all listings to be delayed for at least the next two weeks, and that companies were unlikely to launch investor roadshows amid the volatility. EToro had been scheduled to begin its IPO roadshow next week.
Companies could revive their listing plans once markets settle. Klarna is still aiming to go public as soon as that happens, a person familiar with the matter said.
M&A Woes
The global stock rout is also affecting M&A markets.
Bloomberg News reported Friday that French building materials producer Cie. de Saint-Gobain has decided to hold off on a sale of its auto glass unit, which could have fetched as much as €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion). And private equity firm KKR & Co. has walked away from a consortium discussing a takeover of Gerresheimer AG, the German maker of packaging for drugs and cosmetics that has a market valuation of about €2 billion.
Story Continues
