The Ant Financial IPO will not go forward as planned Thursday, as Chinese regulators cracked down on what would have been the largest public offering of all time.
Why it matters: Jack Ma, the founder of the Chinese payments giant, gave a major speech at the end of October railing against financial regulation both in China and in the West. That speech resulted in a dressing-down from Chinese authorities — and the end of Ma's dreams that Ant would be able to go public.
Background: The Ant IPO was set to become the largest IPO of all time, split between exchanges in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The Shanghai bourse blocked the listing on Tuesday, citing regulatory issues, and Ant then pulled its IPO entirely.
