March 25, 2004 – Citing market instabilities due to the recent violence in Spain and the Middle East, Wacker Siltronic has delayed its IPO until market conditions approve, according to news reports.

Siltronic had planned the 1.09 billion euro ($1.34 billion) offering for March 26. Despite investor interest, “even an attractive company cannot ignore recent geopolitical events,” admitted CEO Wilhelm Sittenthaler.

However, some analysts indicated they were cautious about investing in a company whose business is notoriously cyclical. “We are in the upper part of the cycle and you don’t want to buy these shares as prospects for gains are limited,” said Boris Boehm, a fund manager at Nordinvest, quoted by Bloomberg.

It’s the second recent cancelled IPO for the industry and the region — Germany’s X-Fab Semiconductor Foundries shelved its 185 million euro IPO earlier this month.