Shutdown Stalemate Brings US IPO Holdouts Off the Sidelines

Companies on deck to go public in the US are powering forward with unconventional IPO plans despite the lingering government shutdown, taking many on Wall Street by surprise.

Travel software startup Navan Inc. and electric plane-maker Beta Technologies Inc., two candidates for initial public offerings before the November Thanksgiving holiday, offer contrasting examples of why the fix offered by the shuttered regulator – a 20-day marketing period – is growing in popularity, with three more companies late Friday joining the group, for a total of seven.

Bankers and investors agree that the path to going public during the shutdown ...