Tony Pidgley Jnr has withdrawn his tentative approach for Berkeley Group, the company run by his father.
He said his plan had always been dependent on getting approval from Berkeley management for the bid and keeping them involved in the company.
He said he could not proceed without that approval.
He said press speculation had forced him to reveal his hand too soon.
He said he would consider other opportunities to buy companies through his business, Cadenza. Analysts say Pidgley has drawn attention to the value in the housebuilding sector. Berkeley fell 6.5% to 642.5p.
References: Financial Times 19/02/03 page 20, page 40 (Markets – London), The Guardian 19/02/03 page 22, page 23 (Notebook), The Times 19/02/03 page 24 (Need to know), page 25, The Daily Telegraph 19/02/03 page 2
