The denials follow a statement released by IPT in late August, stating that it was in preliminary discussions with certain parties that may result in an offer being made for the company.
"IPT's announcement endorses the fact that there is a lot of interest in the data area," said Jeremy Whitaker, chief executive at data provider DLG. "(But) we are not in the frame to buy the company and I wouldn't be surprised if the potential buyer was someone outside the UK."
Mark Smith, chief executive officer at TMN Media, also refuted any connection with the deal. "We do look at opportunities, but this isn't one that is on our radar," he said.
Acquisition activity in data has been rife and included DLG's purchase of Wegener DM and the planned takeover of Acxiom by private-equity firm Silver Lake and hedge fund Value Act Capital.
Industry figures have suggested that IPT has become an attractive proposition to investors after a drop in its share price earlier this year. In March, the company's share price plummeted almost 50 per cent from 200p to 103p per share, although this has since risen to 144.5p following the announcement it was in takeover talks.
"At 200p per share, IPT was expensive considering the size and profitability of the company, but now it is more reasonably priced," said database marketing consultant Mark Patron.
IPT was founded in 1999 and floated on the Alternative Investment Market in December 2004. In June this year, the company bought French email marketing specialist NP6 for £7m.
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
