Ezra Holdings Ltd, a Singapore-listed oilfield service company, said it has put on hold a plan to list its subsea services unit in the United States, prompted by unfavourable market conditions.
"Given where the markets are, we have effectively put that on hold," Eugene Cheng, group chief financial officer of Ezra, told Reuters on Wednesday.
Cheng said comparable companies were trading in the U.S. and Europe at three to four times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, down from seven to eight times when Ezra was first considering the option. He was referring to the drop in the companies' enterprise value-to-EBITDA ratios.
A more than 50 percent decline in crude oil prices over the past half-year has prompted investors to sell shares of oil and gas companies. The FT ST Oil & Gas index, which tracks 17 Singapore-listed energy firms, has lost 29 percent in the past six months.
Ezra announced about a year ago that it had appointed JP Morgan Chase & Co to advise on strategic options for its subsea services division, including a possible listing of the business in the United States.
Ezra said the subsea services division, which installs infrastructure on the bottom of ocean for oil and gas fields, contributed 70 percent of revenue in the company's 2014 financial year.
