The bookbuild, which will result in Glencore selling 45% of Enex to the public, stands to be the biggest in Australia for years, possibly raising as much as $2.3 billion for the Swiss-based commodity house.

However last week, Enex was forced to abandon its US institutional roadshow for the float when the markets were thrown into chaos following terrorist attacks upon the World Trade Centre in New York. The company placed the bookbuild temporarily on hold to assess the situation this week.

Yesterday, Glencore and joint global co-ordinators Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Bank said they had decided to defer the completion of the IPO, citing the frail state of international financial markets.

Glencore representative and Enex board member Ivan Glasenberg said: "We are content to wait until investors are able to make a reasoned judgement on the strong fundamentals of Enex when there is further clarity on world events."

In view of the delay, Enex will return with interest about $530 million already received from retail investors as part of an offer that closed on September 12. Retailers will be given the opportunity to participate in the offer through brokers when the offer kicks-off again.

The company said it plans to list on the Australian Stock Exchange as soon as markets have "stabilised". Glencore said the listing is expected to occur before the end of the year.

"In light of last week's tragic events and continued disruption in the financial markets, we have reached the conclusion that it would be in the best interests of all concerned to hold back until conditions have stabilised so that the best outcome can be achieved for the company and all investors," Enex chief executive officer Peter Coates said in an announcement. - MiningNews.net