China’s most popular fitness app pulled out of plans to file for an initial public offering in the US last week as Chinese regulators announced an investigation into data security concerns at Didi, reported the Financial Times.
Keep, which is backed by Japan’s SoftBank and China’s Tencent and is expected to raise up to $500m, did not go ahead with its planned public filing while its bankers at Morgan Stanley cancelled marketing meetings with investors this week, according to two FT sources.
The move is one of the first signs that the probe into possible data security breaches by Didi and other US-listed Chinese companies, including truck-hailing app Full Truck Alliance and online recruiter Boss Zhipin, is likely to impact billions of dollars of technology listings that are planned for New York this year. Ximalaya, China’s biggest podcasting platform, also cancelled its US IPO in recent weeks, according to a source familiar with the company. “After communication with the relevant regulators, Ximalaya understands that a Hong Kong listing would be regarded as a preferred outcome,” the person said. The company had issued a prospectus in April.