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Phone mast maker Arqiva: Oh, the £6bn float? Yeah, about that...

Biz balked at wobbly markets, allegedly

British mast outfit Arqiva has pulled out of plans for a £6bn IPO, citing "market uncertainty" as the reason for a lack of investors.

It comes just two weeks after the firm announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange this month.

In a statement, the company said: "The Board and Shareholders have decided that pursuing a listing in this period of IPO market uncertainty is not in the interests of the Company and its stakeholders, and will revisit the listing once IPO market conditions improve."

Arqiva turned to a stock market flotation after sale talks with a consortium led by Canada's Brookfield Investments broke down.

Unstable markets were cited in another postponement announced today by Bakkavor, a provider of freshly prepared food.

Clive Longbottom, analyst at Quocirca, said the postponement was not surprising. "Inward investment is falling of a cliff, and investment in the UK is flat to say the least. The London stock market is not attractive at the moment because of Brexit. Many businesses were hoping to see a divorce settlement by now."

However, he said it was also possible that Arqiva could be hiding behind the excuse of market uncertainty because the company itself was not an attractive proposition to investors.

Some 19 million homes are connected via Arqiva's 1,500 TV and radio terrestrial transmission and broadcasting sites and 8,000 wireless towers. The firm's roots date back to 1922 when the BBC made its first radio broadcast. ®

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