FIRST Pacific Davies (FPD) has abandoned plans to list this year after a proposed merger with a property management company fell through.
The wholly owned property services arm of blue chip First Pacific Co has not, however, ruled out a future float on the Hong Kong exchange that would finance corporate acquisitions and raise the group's profile.
'We no longer intend to pursue the flotation of First Pacific Davies this year, because concurrent with the float, we had intended to merge it with another company and then list,' FPD managing director Godfrey Blott said. 'The merger fell through.' Hints of a proposed float first came out in the middle of last year, after the company raised $300 million through an issue of exchangeable convertible notes, with the stipulation the notes be converted to shares if the company listed before maturity on July 31, 1998.
Until now, many analysts were expecting a spin-off this year or in early 1997, although the company was believed to have made a small loss in its core property agency business in 1995, stalling float plans.
FPD has been under pressure from the merchant bank and fund management community to list for some time, being one of the few real estate agencies and consultancies that has managed to grow and diversify overall despite a downturn in the property market.
The company had, however, accompanied its issue of convertible notes last year with a statement that a listing was not guaranteed.
'There was some discussion about a possible IPO, but the timing isn't right this year,' FPD corporate communications vice-president Derek Murphy said.