US stock market | Blackstone-backed Liftoff Mobile refiles US IPO hours after pulling plan

Blackstone-backed ​Liftoff Mobile filed confidentially for an ​initial public offering in the U.S. on Tuesday, hours after ​withdrawing an earlier plan, as a recent rout in software stocks makes investors increasingly wary of new listings.

The mobile app marketing provider earlier this month had postponed its planned public offering, through ‌which it ⁠was seeking to ⁠raise up to $762 million at a valuation of $5.17 billion.

Liftoff could seek to go public later ​this year, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.


Fears that fast-advancing artificial intelligence ​tools could unleash competition and squeeze margins at companies vulnerable to automation have triggered a sharp selloff in shares of software providers in recent weeks.

Some issuers have ​since trimmed valuations and postponed planned listings, and industry ⁠sources say ‌this has stalled dealmaking and IPOs in the software sector ​as potential ​buyers exercise caution.

"The selloff in software and fintech will certainly pump ⁠the brakes on IPO activity in Q1," said Matthew Kennedy, ​senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ​ETFs.

"It is common practice to accelerate IPO timelines in a strong market and slow-walk the process in a weak market."

Clear Street, a Wall Street broker that was initially seeking a valuation of as much as $11.8 billion, slashed its fundraising target by 65% and pushed back its IPO last week.

The scrapping of ‌Liftoff's listing plans could pose a minor hiccup for Blackstone just as the world's top alternative asset manager readies for "one of the ​largest IPO ​pipelines" in its history. But ⁠some analysts believe it may be a better move in a volatile market.

"For private equity firms like Blackstone, withdrawing an IPO in unfavorable conditions is often preferable ​to accepting a disappointing valuation," said IPOX Research Associate Lukas Muehlbauer.

Blackstone combined its portfolio companies Liftoff and Vungle to form Liftoff Mobile in 2021. It provides mobile app developers with tools to acquire users and grow their businesses, and has roughly 1.4 billion daily active users worldwide.