Latitude IPO fails to secure investor support - media

Alec Baldwin has long been the face of Latitude-owned finance brand Gem. Photo / File

The initial public offer (IPO) for financial services firm Latitude Financial has failed to secure enough support, Australian media reported.

If successful, the A$3.2 billion float ($3.43 billion) float would have been the biggest in Australia so far this year. The company was to have listed on the ASX on Friday.

The offer was withdrawn on Tuesday night, The Australian reported, following the close of its bookbuild and after the business was repriced below its original IPO range.

The Australian's Margin Call column on Tuesday afternoon revealed the monster IPO was "hanging in the balance".

Spokespeople for Latitude were not immediately available for comment to the Herald on the reports.

Latitude - the company behind GEM Visa, whose advertising campaign was fronted by American actor Alec Baldwin - has a big commercial presence in New Zealand.

Last week, Independent research group Morningstar warned investors against subscribing to the float, saying the business was highly leveraged, exposed to lower credit quality and the competitive threat of rival buy now, pay later players such as Afterpay.

Latitude has about 2.6 million customers in Australia and New Zealand.

Earlier this week, the price was set at the bottom of an indicative A$2.00 to A$2.25 range.