Major London IPO gets shelved - Latham and Linklaters stand down

Cobalt Holdings has cancelled its planned $230 million IPO on the London Stock Exchange in another blow to the UK’s struggling equity capital markets.

Latham & Watkins was advising Cobalt, and had prepared a 145-page prospectus for the listing which was priced and ready to go. Linklaters was advising the underwriters.

The IPO was set to be the biggest first-time share sale by new money raised on the London market since 2023, according to Bloomberg.

Cold feet

The company planned to use the funds to purchase $200 million worth of cobalt from commodities giant Glencore which was backing the float. Cobalt is a key metal used in electric vehicle batteries.

Cobalt issued a notice of cancellation on Wednesday (4 June) saying it would not be going ahead. No reason was given, but Reuters reports that the cancellation was prompted by a lack of enthusiasm from investors.

A broader trend

The cancellation is another example of the ongoing challenges faced by London's equity markets, which have struggled to attract new listings in recent years.

The news came on the same day that UK fintech Wise announced plans to move its primary listing to New York. Incidentally, Latham and Linklaters were also involved in the company's 2021 London IPO. On that deal the roles were reversed. Linklaters advised Wise, while Latham acted for the financial advisers.