TP Icap ditches talks over data division sale - report

Interdealer broker TP Icap has reportedly ditched talks about a sale of its data division, Parameta, despite coming under pressure to return more cash to investors.

According to Sky News, TP Icap held discussions with a number of potential buyers in recent months, including large buyout funds. The process, which was never publicly disclosed by the company, has now been called off, according to several people close to it.

Some City shareholders had been urging TP Icap to offload Parameta in order to return as much as £1.5bn through special dividends or share buybacks, Sky said.

However, TP Icap's board is said to have resisted those demands on the back of improved trading and a rebound in its share price, which has risen by nearly one-third over the past year.