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Travelport has announced that following a review of market conditions, it has decided against proceeding with an initial public offering of shares and listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Published: 11 Feb 2010

Travelport has announced that following a review of market conditions, it has decided against proceeding with an initial public offering of shares and listing on the London Stock Exchange.

The company has pulled its £1.2 billion London flotation after struggling to win the support of investors.

“Since we announced our intention to float, there has been significantly increased volatility and uncertainty in global equity markets, as a result of macro circumstances unrelated to our business,” CEO Jeff Clarke said.

According to a report filed by Reuters, Travelport bookrunners had tried to rescue the deal, slashing the price range by a quarter to between 180 pence to 190 pence per share from a previous range of 210p-290p. The sale was due to close on Thursday.

The report also added that Travelport had also tweaked its remuneration policy to cut the amount directors and staff would receive if operating profit growth reaches the company’s targets. But investors targeted to participate in the listing said the bonus package change had not gone far enough and failed to ease more fundamental reservations about the company.

According to Dow Jones, Blackstone’s troubles in the IPO market underscore an issue facing private-equity firms: They need to exit deals so they can book profits and return capital to clients. But with the stock market slumping and the IPO market weakening, the buyout shops now face a dilemma. Either they push through an IPO at a sharply discounted valuation, hurting their returns, or they withdraw the IPO and hope for a better opportunity in the future.