Norwegian software company Visma to delay London IPO after broad sell-off, FT reports

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Norwegian software company Visma may push its London IPO plans back to the latter half of 2026 after a significant selloff in the global software sector, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Visma, owned by the British buyout firm Hg, had earlier considered listing in the UK as soon as the first half of this year, the report said.

The earliest a listing could take place would be in the second quarter, although no plans have been finalised, the newspaper added.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Hg declined to comment while Visma did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Visma had provisionally picked London for its IPO, attracted in part by listing reforms introduced by Britain's financial regulator last year that eased requirements for high-growth tech companies without traditional profitability.

However, its plan was hindered after the selloff, partly sparked by AI developer Anthropic's updated chatbot release last week which heightened fears of AI-driven disruption in the data and professional services industry.

Preparations for a listing have continued, with an unnamed source telling the FT that London was a "difficult market" for the company to list into.

Visma makes accounting, payroll and HR software products for customers across the Nordic, Benelux and Baltic regions.