Warner Music Group has delayed its planned IPO because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The major filed documents last month for a stock market debut.
According to a Reuters report, the WMG initial public offering has been pushed back because of the market volatility, which makes it difficult for underwriters to find steady demand for shares.
There were plans to market share price ranges and begin meeting with potential investors this week. The IPO has now been put on hold until the market improves, according to the report.
The S&P 500 Index lost around 12% of its value last week in response to the coronavirus outbreak, the fastest drop on record.
While the delay is a blow to WMG’s plans, there is no pressing need for an IPO within the major. The proceeds of any share offer are expected to go to existing investors rather than the company. With reports of the sale expected to be above $1 billion (£785m), that would be less than the 10% stake in UMG, for which the Tencent Holdings consortium agreed to pay €3bn (£2.6bn).
WMG did not respond to a request for comment.
UMG is also pursuing an IPO though parent Vivendi had made it clear that would not be in the near future.
