ARC International, the UK semiconductor firm, has taken the unusual step of publishing a formal denial of speculation that it is planning a secondary sale of shares when the 'lock-up' expires from its inital public offering last year.

In its statement ARC said that it was &quotnot currently working on a secondary offering and is not aware of any selling intentions on the part of major shareholders&quot. The statement came just weeks before the expiry of the lock-up, an agreement under which pre-IPO investors commit not to sell more shares for six months after the IPO.