On 8 June 2018, following consultation with UBS and Macquarie (joint lead managers for Prospa’s IPO) the company postponed its IPO on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
Prospa had received a letter from ASIC on the afternoon of Tuesday 5 June 2018 requesting information as part of a broader industry review of small business lending contract terms. Prospa understands that a similar review and consultation process is underway with the other major industry participants in the small business lending space. In response to this letter, the decision was made to pause the listing on Wednesday morning, 6 June 2018, to allow time to engage with ASIC and other stakeholders.
Over 48 hours that followed, Prospa constructively engaged with ASIC to review its current loan terms and has provided detailed information in response to the regulator’s queries.
Prospa remains satisfied that the issues discussed with ASIC would not have been material to the IPO and no additional disclosure would have been required in the prospectus. ASIC did not raise further queries on the prospectus.
The company continues to perform strongly and May 2018’s originations were 23 per cent ahead of the prospectus forecast.
The company has the complete support of its Board and existing shareholders.
Major shareholders, including Entrée Capital, Square Peg Capital, and AirTree Venture Capital had committed over $47m to the IPO (equivalent to almost half of the new funds coming into the company) and continue to be fully supportive of the company.
Media inquiries, please call:
Lauren Thompson (+61) 438 954 729
Caitlin Collins (+61) 400 958 887
