Blackstone's Alight Inc. Postpones This Week's $800 Million IPO

(Bloomberg) -- Alight Inc., the benefits administrator business bought by Blackstone Group LP two years ago, has postponed its plans for an initial public offering.

The company was aiming to raise as much as $800 million and had been marketing 32 million shares for $22 to $25 apiece, with final pricing expected Thursday.

“We have determined not to move forward with an IPO at this time,” Alight said in an emailed statement confirming a report by Bloomberg News. “We look forward to continuing to deliver world-class human capital solutions and services to our clients.”

Blackstone will hold onto Alight for now, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the details aren’t public.

A representative for Blackstone declined to comment.

Blackstone agreed to acquire Alight as part of its purchase of Aon Plc’s human-resources and benefits-administration platforms in a transaction valued at as much as $4.8 billion in 2017. Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley were leading the IPO for the company, based in Lincolnshire, Illinois.

Alight’s decision to put its offering on hold came as iconic jeans-maker Levi Strauss & Co. made its market return Thursday in the biggest U.S. IPO of the year so far. The San Francisco-based retailer climbed as much as 36 percent after pricing its shares above the marketed range and raising $623 million.

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