Banks underwriting the $2.2bn (€1.5bn) loan backing the leveraged buyout of a US computer retailer CDW Corporation have been forced to pull the syndication of the financing due to lack of demand even after offering investors steep discounts to entice them to buy.

The decision to shelve the sale of the loan package, one of the largest to have hit the primary markets this year, comes after three weeks when lead underwriter Lehman Brothers has struggled to garner sufficient investor demand amid volatile conditions.