Georgian Railway is blaming volatile markets as it pulls LSE float

Georgian Railway shelved its London shares sale yesterday blaming market conditions.

The float was meant to raise up to $250m (£159m) and value the company at $1bn.

It is a setback to the London Stock Exchange, which has seen little initial public offering activity over the past year as stock markets struggle with worries about eurozone debt.

Earlier this month, the Russian real estate investor O1 Properties pulled its listing due to choppy markets. Georgia also blamed its decision on volatile markets, with uncertainty over the future of Greece deterring investors.

With markets wobbly, the company and its advisers had made every effort to improve the chances of a successful offering, including doubling the usual marketing period to gather as much feedback as possible from investors. The country's prime minister, Nika Gilauri, even joined management teams on investor roadshows.

It is the latest east European withdrawal from a London listing. All eyes will now be on Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov's planned float of Megafon, which could be valued at $4bn.