Cilo Cybin Holdings, a South African medical cannabis company, has abandoned plans for an initial public offering in Johannesburg after failing to attract enough investment.

The Initial public offering (IPO) closed on 4 November 2022 and the company had hoped to list on the JSE on 14 November 2022, but this will not be the case.

In a SENS announcement, the directors said that 1 892 people had subscribed for shares “for an aggregate amount of R20,5 million” but that “unfortunately, the JSE Limited minimum capital requirement for a listing, as a special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”) as set out in the Cilo Cybin Prospectus, has not been met within the set timeframe and the listing on the JSE as a SPAC cannot proceed."

The company said that “due to new developments on the horizon, and the need to be able to respond rapidly to take full advantage of these opportunities, we have determined it is in the best interest of the Company to focus on its growth initiatives, and thus to postpone listing to a later date. Cilo Cybin investors will be contacted via e-mail containing a form in which they can provide their refund details. We wish to thank the general public for their participation”.

The business, the first in South Africa to win the right to grow, process and package cannabis products, had planned to list as a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The aim was to raise as much as R2 billion, founder Gabriel Theron said earlier this year, yet investors offered to buy just R20.5 million of shares.

“We have determined it is in the best interest of the company to focus on its growth initiatives, and thus to postpone listing to a later date,” Pretoria-based Cilo Cybin said in a statement Wednesday. Investors will be entitled to a refund.

It said in a statement on 2 November 2022 that “the industries Cilo Cybin envisions to participate in include Biotech, Cannabis, Psychedelics, wearable devices and custom nutrition. The Company has identified potential opportunities to acquire several assets located in South Africa and United States of America (which are still subject to shareholder approval)."