The European telecoms initial public offering market is not a pretty sight at the moment. Deals are still being lined up but banks are sceptical that they will all see the light of day.

In some ways the industry is caught in a Catch-22 scenario. The credit agencies are breathing down the firms' necks for them to whittle down their huge debt burdens but management teams are loath to sell non-core assets at knockdown prices. Meanwhile, equity investors are running a mile from anything with a telecoms ring.