China's decision to halt Ant IPO threatens $400-mn payday for bankers

For bankers, Ant Group’s initial public offering was the kind of bonus-boosting deal that can fund a big-ticket splurge on a car, a boat or even a vacation home. Hopefully, they didn’t get ahead of themselves.

Dealmakers at firms including Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co were set to feast on an estimated fee pool of nearly $400 million for handling the Hong Kong portion of the sale, but were instead left reeling after the listing there and in Shanghai abruptly derailed days before the scheduled trading debut. Top executives close to the transaction said they were shocked and trying to