Ardagh pulls partial IPO

Irish-owned glass and packaging group Ardagh has pulled the planned partial flotation of its metal-packaging business because of “challenging” market conditions, but has said it is ready to launch the IPO as soon as things become calmer.

The Luxembourg-based group, headed by Paul Coulson, had aimed to raise up to €3bn from floating a minority stake in the subsidiary, known as Oressa, on the New York Stock Exchange before the end of this year.

However, in a statement yesterday, management said: “The group has virtually completed its preparations for the IPO of Oressa, but the current IPO market conditions in the US are challenging and, as a result, it does not believe that it would be wise to seek to access the equity markets at this point in time.