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On its first trading day, cannabis company Akanda (AKAN) fell about 65% from its opening price of $30, though that opening price was nearly eight-times its IPO price of $4 per share. Meanwhile, homebuying startup Knock reportedly scrapped its plans to go public after Chobani recently delayed its own IPO.

Latest IPOs and Direct Listings

Akanda opened on March 15 at $30. The company had priced its initial public offering of 4 million common shares at a price of $4.00 per share to the public. Akanda Corp is an international medical cannabis company.

Halo Collective is Akanda's largest shareholder, owning 12,674,957 common shares, representing approximately 44% of issued and outstanding proforma common shares post-closing of the offering. Boustead Securities acted as the lead underwriter on the offering. Akanda ended the week at $7.40.

Other Notable Syndicate News

Homebuying startup Knock is scrapping plans to go public and is laying off nearly half its staff after a tumultuous year for property technology companies, Bloomberg's Patrick Clark reported.

Knock, which pioneered a type of financing that gives homebuyers a leg-up in competitive markets, was on the verge of going public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company last year, Chief Executive Officer Sean Black said in an interview on Tuesday.

Waning investor interest in blank-check companies pushed Knock to pursue a private fundraising round, tapping some of the institutions that had expressed interest in a potential SPAC deal, said Black, who detailed the challenges in a blog post. The effort was also frustrated by the pandemic and the high-profile collapse of Zillow Group’s (ZG) home-flipping operation, the author noted.

Several top executives are leaving Chobani as the yogurt maker puts plans for its initial public offering on hold, The Wall Street Journal's Annie Gasparro, Corrie Driebusch and Cara Lombardo reported. President and Chief Operating Officer Peter McGuinness told employees early this month that he was leaving the company to pursue other opportunities, according to people familiar with the matter.

Chobani’s Chief People Officer Grace Zuncic, Chief Strategy Officer Michelle Brooks and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Cristina Alesci also are leaving the company, the people said.

Upcoming IPOs

Upcoming IPO and direct listings expected include Solta Medical, Bitdefender, Phoenix Motor, FreeCast, and Samba TV.

Bausch Health Companies (BHC) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Solta Medical, has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. SEC relating to a proposed initial public offering of Solta's common shares. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.

Solta has applied to list its common shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol 'SLTA.' Bausch Health has completed all internal procedural steps and is fully prepared to launch both the Solta and Bausch + Lomb Corporation IPOs, subject to receipt of regulatory, stock exchange, and other approvals.

Samba TV has filed with the SEC for an initial public offering of shares of Class A common stock. The company has applied to list its Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'SMBA.'

In its prospectus, Samba TV stated: 

"We are transforming internet Connected TVs - CTVs - into a platform for our customers, which are comprised of brands, agencies, content programmers, publishers and measurement and advertising vendors, to build attentive, engaged audiences. Our AI-driven content identification software is embedded in CTVs sold by leading original equipment manufacturer - OEM - brands across the globe.

"Through our software, we form direct relationships with millions of viewers, who provide us consent to collect their viewership data... We are active in six countries today, with ambitions to expand into the more than 100 countries where CTVs integrated with our technology are sold."

Bitdefender Holding B.V., which identifies itself as "a global cybersecurity leader," announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form F-1 to the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission for the proposed initial public offering of its securities in the United States.

"The timing, size and price range for the proposed offering have yet to be determined. The initial public offering is subject to SEC and other regulatory review processes, as well as market and other conditions," the company said. Bitdefender did not disclose a proposed ticker symbol for its anticipated stock offering.

Phoenix Motor filed for an initial public offering on the Nasdaq under symbol 'PEV.' Upon the closing of the offering, Phoenix Motor will be a "controlled company" within the meaning of the corporate governance standards because more than 50% of the voting power of its outstanding common stock will be beneficially owned by SPI Energy (SPI).

Phoenix Motor currently designs, assembles, and integrates electric drive systems and light and medium duty electric vehicles, and it also markets and sells electric vehicle chargers for the commercial and residential markets. The company delivered its first commercial electric vehicle in 2014. It also works on developing and integrating an electric drivetrain into the Ford Econoline Chassis, specifically on the Ford E-450.

FreeCast has filed with the SEC for an initial public offering of common stock and has applied to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol 'CAST.' FreeCast is an entertainment-based content discovery, aggregation, and management company that provides SmartGuide digital interactive technology for consumers to organize numerous sources of online media similar to a traditional, on-screen television guide.