Apax retract plans for jeweler bid

Apax Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts have abandoned their plans to bid for Signet, the world's largest jewellery retailer. The two private equity groups confirmed last night that they would not be bidding for the retailer, which trades as H Samuel in the UK . The news comes after increasingly vocal opposition from investors who feared an attempt to buy Signet on the cheap.

David Herro of Harris Associates, the company's largest shareholder, dismissed the mooted £2.3bn offer from the consortium as too low. Shares in the company have soared by 16 per cent to 115.25p since the interest became public; they are expected to fall sharply on Tuesday, when the London stock market reopens.

Signet is due to announce its interim results on Wednesday. Analysts are forecasting that pre-tax profits will have risen by 13 per cent to £59m. The withdrawal of the private equity consortium could pave the way for Gerald Ratner, the former chief executive of the company, to bid. Ratner's first jewellery chain experienced a financial crisis after he described one of his products as "total crap". Signet had also been in talks over a possible merger with US rival Zale in mid-June, but Zale decided that its shareholders would be best served by it continuing as an independent company.