Buy-now-pay-later company Klarna and ticketing marketplace StubHub have delayed plans for initial public offerings (IPOs) in the wake of President Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement.
Although Sweden-based Klarna was planning to start pitching investors as early as April 7, the company has opted to wait out the market turmoil caused by the tariffs.
Klarna was eyeing a valuation of $15 billion, the Journal reported.
StubHub had also been prepping marketing materials for investors but decided to stand down after advisers warned there might not be any demand for its stock. It’s the second time the New York-based company has delayed going public.
Both StubHub and Klarna had recently filed IPO prospectuses with the SEC. Klarna even listed the “imposition of new tariffs” as a potential risk factor that could impact its offering.
Still, few could have predicted the sheer size and scope of Trump’s tariff measures — or how quickly they would rattle the IPO market.
While the tariffs may not directly affect Klarna or StubHub’s business, the policy shock has been enough to inject real fear into investors.
Private companies sitting on billions in equity have taken note. Many founders are now choosing to avoid the public markets entirely.
“If you’re the founders or CEOs of these companies, you don’t want to deal with the public markets. There’s plenty of demand from private buyers,” said Joe Medved, a partner at Lerer Hippeau.
And it’s not just IPOs feeling the chill. U.S. mergers and acquisitions slumped in Q1 as executives held off on key business decisions.
More companies are throwing in the towel, for now
President Trump was supposed to usher in a new era of IPOs and M&As as he deregulated financial markets and made it easier for companies to pursue public listings.
So far, promises of an American Golden Age have turned sour as businesses navigate the most rocky environment in years.
This largely explains why M&A volumes in the United States plunged by 13% in the first quarter while similar deals rose across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, according to Dealogic.
“The excitement and positive momentum observed in the M&A market at the start of the year has morphed into something more lukewarm,” said Carole Streicher, who heads KPMG’s deal advisory.
KPMG data showed that Q1 was the lowest quarter for M&As since 2023.
The silver lining is that deal activity should pick up in the second half of the year as many companies are looking to “divest slow-growing assets and make acquisitions that will promote growth,” said Streicher.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are markedmarked