Italian wind power producer Fri-El Green Power today has cancelled its €461m ($680m) initial public offering due to lack of investor demand as enthusiasm for European renewable energy companies wanes amid market turbulence.

Fri-El said that it had agreed with Merrill Lynch and UniCredit, the banks coordinating the deal, to drop the sale at the end of the offer period because of the "negative performance' of the financial markets. Shares were scheduled to begin trading on the Milan stock exchange on November 22.