Mark Schneider, chairman and chief executive of Dutch cable network giant UPC, said on Wednesday (June 7) that the flotation of its Chello Broadband division would not go ahead as planned on Friday, June 9.

The float had already been postponed for at least a week, last Wednesday (May 31).

The reason for delay was given as the ongoing strategic discussions - widely presumed to be with the UK's Telewest - that the company is engaged in. But an imminent decision on third-party network access by the Dutch parliament may also have prompted caution.

With shares offered at Euros13-17, Chello was valued at Euros3.5bn-Euros4.6bn.