ILP shares price slips as merger talks abandoned

Talks about a possible offer for computer packaging group ILP have been abandoned. The market expressed its disappointment by pushing the shares down by 7p sterling, representing a 22 per cent fall, to 25.5p.

ILP announced in December that it was in merger talks. A short statement yesterday said it was "unable to agree acceptable terms with a potential offeror and therefore all discussions have now been concluded". A spokesman for ILP would not identify the interested party or comment on what consideration was offered.

However, as it has had a dismal performance since it gained a share quotation on the London market two years ago, it is unlikely to have received an attractive offer. When it went public, it was able to show substantial growth to 1995, when it recorded pre-tax profit of £1 million rising to £1.1 million in 1996, but it incurred losses of £214,000 in the first half of 1997.

ILP said the preliminary results for 1997 would be announced on April 16th and "will be below market expectations". The spokesman confirmed that losses would be incurred for the full year. ILP said it continued to be "encouraged by the increased levels of trading in the group in the first quarter and the prospects for the current year as a whole". The spokesman would not say if the company was still incurring losses. ILP gained its share listing at, or near, its peak. At first it was not interested in the Irish market because it said it would receive more favourable treatment from British institutions. Irish institutions, a spokesman told The Irish Times at the time, did not favour small Irish flotations.

The placing of new shares - involving some shares held by executive directors who got £1.5 million between them and new shares - raised some £4.5 million. It was oversubscribed five times and the shares closed at 85p, up 10p on the first day's trading in London. The purpose of that flotation, ILP said, was to allow two directors - Mr Paul Burke, founder and managing director, and Mr Paul McLaughlin, sales director - to realise part of their investment and to provide the company with funds to help finance the expansion required to satisfy the rapid growth in demand.

A year later, after the publication of the 1996 results which were below expectations, it decided it was an opportune time to seek an Irish listing.