Lebanon's Makhzoumi family has dropped plans to sell a stake in its Dubai-based Future Pipe Industries in an initial public offering citing the downturn in equity markets.

The family had planned to raise as much as $554 million by selling up to 35 percent of the company, and list the stock on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX).

'Due to conditions in the equity capital market and recent events in the financial markets, it will not be proceeding with its proposed global offering at this time,' FPI said in a statement on Thursday.

The sale was going to be the only the second company to list its ordinary shares solely on the DIFX, which Dubai set up in 2005 to encourage local companies to sell shares to the public, and for foreign companies to tap growing regional wealth. -Reuters