AmeriHome Joins Home Lender Caliber in Delaying IPO

(Bloomberg) -- A pair of home loan originators are backing away from initial public offerings for now as market volatility climbs.

Caliber Home Loans Inc. said in a statement that it was delaying its IPO that was set for Wednesday, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg. AmeriHome Inc. is also planning to put off its listing, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the information was private.

Both companies were scheduled to price their offerings on Wednesday after the market closed. A representative for AmeriHome declined to comment.

As Germany and France are set to go on lock-down again to counter a new wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the S&P 500 Index fell 3.5% Wednesday after losing ground on Monday and Tuesday. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index on Wednesday shot up to over 40, the highest level since mid-June.

The listings coincide with a consolidation of deal activities in the mortgage-lending space, where many players, long owned by private equity firms, are tapping public markets for merger currency further down the line.

Dan Gilbert’s Detroit-based Rocket Companies Inc., which operates Quicken Loans and Rocket Mortgage, raised $2.07 billion after downsizing its August IPO. United Wholesale Mortgage, also based in Michigan, has agreed to go public through a reverse merger with Gores Holdings IV Inc., a special purpose acquisition company run by Alec Gores.

Caliber’s shareholders had planned sell 23 million shares for $14 to $16 each to raise as much as $368 million. AmeriHome had filed to sell 14.7 million shares for $16 to $18 apiece, which would have raised up to $265 million.

Some IPOs did make it over the finish line Wednesday. Pool maker Leslie’s Inc. raised $680 million in a deal that exceed its initial target, according to a statement. Phoenix-based Leslie’s, which is majority owned by L. Catterton and Singapore’s GIC Pte, sold 40 million shares with its investors for $17 each after marketing them for $14 to $16.

Also Wednesday, clinical-stage biotech firm Galecto Inc. priced a $85 million IPO.

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