Interdealer broker Tullett Prebon fell sharply on the stock market this morning after the City firm said talks with a possible buyer had finished without a deal.
Tullett lost 12.5% of its value this morning to 316.6p after it said that the unnamed suitor had walked away. This puts its shares almost exactly where they were on 10 March before it announced that it was in talks.
"These discussions have been constructive, however, it has not been possible to reach agreement on the terms of any offer," said the company, led by Terry Smith.
Tullett also reported a 12% drop in revenue in the first four months of 2010 to £312m ($464m) compared with a year ago, which was an exceptionally volatile period in the markets.
Robin Savage, analyst at Collins Stewart, predicted that Tullett's management were looking for an offer equal to at least one year's revenue, or around 443p per share.
"With Tullett's shares trading at a discount to this level, price may have been the unacceptable term," Savage said.
