Asian Travel Group Klook Delays $500M IPO Until After the Holidays

SoftBank (SFTBY)-backed online travel platform Klook is delaying its IPO arrival into New York.

Booking Plans Delayed

According to a Bloomberg report, the Hong Kong-based company, which is also backed by investment bank giant Goldman Sachs (GS), is now planning to list in the U.S. early next year ditching earlier booking plans of listing by the end of 2025.

It is understood that Klook wants, ironically perhaps, to wait until the holiday season is over when appetite for new listings is expected to pick up.

Klook management is also understood to have taken notice of recent weak stock market debuts such as corporate travel and expense management platform Navan (NAVN). It experienced a challenging debut on the Nasdaq at the end of October, closing its first trading day down 20% from its IPO price of $25 per share. It now sits around $15 – see below:

Bloomberg cautioned that Klook’s deliberations are ongoing and that plans may change.

All About the Experience

Founded in 2014, Klook offers bookings for tours, attractions, transport and other travel experiences globally, it competes with global platforms such as Booking.com (BKNG), TripAdvisor (TRIP), China’s ⁠Trip.com and South Korea’​s Yanolja.

It filed for its U.‍S. ⁠initial public offering on November 10 with hopes that it could raise around $500 million.

It is performing well, recently reporting revenue of $417.1 million in 2024, compared with $335.2 million a year earlier. It is being boosted by the continuing recovery in global tourism post-Covid, as well as the growing demand for travel experiences. Its mobile-first structure also appeals to younger travelers and those making spontaneous bookings.

The travel sector’s contribution to global GDP is projected to reach $11.7 ​trillion in 2025, 10.3% of the total, according to a recent ‌report by the World Travel and Tourism Council.

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