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1Komma5 and Klarna reassess US IPO plans on market

volatility

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Exein sticking with longer term listing plans for now

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LSE warns of challenge of US listings

By Alessandro Parodi, Gianluca Lo Nostro and Charlie Conchie

April 9 (Reuters) - German unicorn 1Komma5 Grad has

joined Sweden's Klarna in reassessing plans for a U.S. float as

President Trump's renewable energy and trade policies have

roiled markets.

The energy startup, which uses AI to provide solar power,

energy storage and e-mobility solutions, says after recent

fundraising it is valued at just over $1 billion to join a

select club of unicorn status companies in Germany. It was

aiming for an initial public offering on NASDAQ in 2025.

"Due to recent tariffs and market reaction we have postponed

IPO plans to review the timeline," the company's founder and CEO

Philipp Schroeder told Reuters.

As a potential global tariff war has disrupted markets in

recent days, tech firm Swedish fintech Klarna has also put its

U.S. listing on hold, while other companies are freezing

dealmaking.

Klarna's listing could have valued it at over $15 billion,

Reuters reported, and was seen as a potential catalyst for

others to follow.

On Wednesday, the head of pan-European stock exchange

operator Euronext said that volatility and uncertainty

brought about by Trump's policies make the U.S. look like an

emerging market more than a developed country.

Emerging markets often use tariffs to protect their

industries while they try to develop.

LOSING APPEAL

European tech startups have looked to the U.S. to attract

more liquidity, expand faster and face less regulatory hurdles

than in their home markets.

"When we started and actually reached unicorn status already

in '23, the overall environment for clean tech and technology

companies out of Europe to actually still be listed at NASDAQ

was an option that was suitable", 1Komma5 Grad's Schroeder said.

But recent shocks have made that market less appealing, he

said.

Given uncertainty in U.S. markets in recent weeks, other

European tech companies may consider other listing venues.

The "U.S. is no longer the only place to look for a tech

IPO," said Gianni Cuozzo, chief executive of Italian tech

startup Exein, which had previously said it was considering a

U.S. listing in the 2027-2030 period. Cuozzo said the company

had not yet decided what it would do.

Exein, which provides embedded cybersecurity, said it is

valued at around 500 million euros ($545 million).

MYTHBUSTING US MARKETS

While the postponement of IPOs can be blamed on stock market

volatility, some experts say that the appeal of a U.S. listing

and the liquidity of those markets might have been exaggerated.

Last month, the London Stock Exchange issued a "mythbusting"

note to warn British companies and advisers that inclusion in

the S&P 500 index, which includes companies listed on the NASDAQ

and the New York Stock Exchange, can be "extremely challenging"

for non-U.S. companies.

Out of 20 British companies which listed in the U.S. since

2014 and raised at least $100 million, nine of them have

delisted and seven are trading down 85% on average, while only

four are trading up, the note said.

($1 = 0.9168 euros)