Line messaging app will not be filing for an IPO this year

Line, the mobile messaging app from Japan with 500 million registered users, is putting its public listing on hold after revealing that it won’t seek an IPO this year as previously planned. The decision was initially confirmed in a statement to the Wall Street Journal. It emerged in August that Line had filed paperwork in both the US and Japan, hinting that it could pursue a dual listing that analysts speculate would value it at around $10 billion.

Line Corp., the Japanese operator of a popular smartphone messaging application, said it won’t go ahead with an initial public offering in Japan or overseas this year. “We have decided to prioritize our efforts to expand the business globally, rather than rush into an IPO,” a spokeswoman said. The company isn’t abandoning an IPO as an option altogether, she said. She declined to say whether it would pursue an IPO next year. The surprising announcement indicates a change in Line’s road map. In July, the firmsubmitted an application for a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in a potential deal that was expected to value it at more than $9 billion. A person familiar with the matter said in July that Line also was considering listing on the New York Stock Exchange and planned to go public as early as this year.