The collapse of merger talks between UBM and Informa is about as surprising as Austria and Switzerland’s early exit from Euro 2008. The share-for-share deal seemed lacklustre from the off. Both sides spent more energy obsessing over the source of the leak a week and a half ago than getting beyond the preliminaries of structure and pricing.

UBM can go after Informa again within six months, but a resumption of hostilities seems unlikely. With net debt around the same level as earnings, UBM has the firepower to continue doing smaller deals. For Informa, the next step is less obvious. The board has announced an all-cash approach from an unnamed bidder, but the market simply is not buying it. The shares fell 9 per cent on Wednesday, giving up all the gains, and more, since the announcement late on Tuesday.