LONDON (AFX) - Private equity groups Apax and KKR have abandoned their plans for a possible offer for Anglo-American jewellery retailer Signet Group PLC.
In a joint statement sent by email, Apax and KKR said they have no current intention of approaching the board of Signet to make a possible offer for the company.
The private equity firms announced on Aug 3 that they were considering making an offer. Media reports have since said Signet shareholders are opposed to a private equity buyout.
Signet is posting first-half results on Wednesday Aug 30, with Credit Suisse forecasting pretax profit of 59 mln stg, a 13 pct increase on last year's 52.1 mln stg.
Signet announced second-quarter and first-half sales numbers on Aug 3. Over the 26 weeks to July 29 the retailer's total sales increased 12.1 pct to 810.5 mln stg, while like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of new and closed space, rose 5.2 pct. newsdesk@afxnews.com ak COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited