diff --git a/libbb/lineedit.c b/libbb/lineedit.c
index b0adcf140..2cae4711a 100644
--- a/libbb/lineedit.c
+++ b/libbb/lineedit.c
@@ -1071,7 +1071,7 @@ static NOINLINE int build_match_prefix(char *match_buf)
 		continue;
 	for (--i; i >= 0; i--) {
 		int cur = int_buf[i];
-		if (cur == ' ' || cur == '<' || cur == '>' || cur == '|' || cur == '&') {
+		if (cur == ' ' || cur == '<' || cur == '>' || cur == '|' || cur == '&' || cur == '=') {
 			remove_chunk(int_buf, 0, i + 1);
 			break;
 		}