loanDepot’s decisions to withdraw its Initial Public Offering was easier than expected, according to loanDepot Chairman and CEO Anthony Hsieh in a company blog.
The online mortgage lender was scheduled to trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 13 but announced on Nov. 12 that it was withdrawing its Initial Public Offering due to adverse "market conditions."
The company was scheduled to begin trading under the symbol LDI.
In the blog, Hsieh commented on the recent volatility in the stock market with other companies that have gone public this year, such as Lending Club (LC) and OnDeck (ONDK), which both went public within the last 12 months and are already trading down.
Here’s a clip from Hsieh on the decision to cancel its IPO.
We did a fantastic job and continue to build our franchise, even though timing in the IPO market isn’t right. loanDepot has many options as a successful profit-generating company, and the pursuit of an IPO was one option to accelerate our plans for growth that were already in progress. Unlike other IPO candidates, we’re already moving forward with our plans because of our capital reserves and the investor confidence we’ve earned beyond the IPO market. And while an IPO continues to be an option, perhaps one day in the future, it’s not a necessity.
loanDepot announced in October that it filed for an initial public offering, confirming industry rumors that started at the beginning of September.
The choice to file for IPO came amid the lender making significant strides in the industry this year to try and become the No. 1 nonbank consumer lender.
At the beginning of August, loanDepot closed the hole on its product offerings and announced its plans to offer new home equity products and second mortgages.
And that was only the latest initiative from the nonbank.
Since the company opened its new co-headquarters in Plano, Texas, just two years ago, it has announced plans to hire 1,000 additional employees to support its growing prominence in the industry.
It also broke into the personal loan space, which has already experienced rapid market acceptance, with funding volume in the first two months of launch reaching more than $40 million.
Looking ahead, Hsieh was optimistic in the blog.
Today we continue our journey as the second largest consumer nonbank lender in the country in six short years. $53 Billion funded since inception and $22 billion in the first months of this year. We carry the largest product suite of any nonbank lender and continue to lead the charge in technology innovation and creativity. Our exciting journey continues…
