Security firm G4S falls as Canadian rival abandons interest

(Reuters) - Shares of G4S Plc fell as much as 9 percent in early trade on Tuesday after Canadian rival Garda World Security dropped its potential bid for the British security services company over the weekend.

G4S acknowledged Garda's decision and said it had not received any proposals or requests for extension of the May 8 deadline from the Canadian firm during the offer period.

Garda said on Sunday it did not intend to make an offer for G4S, having previously said it was considering a cash offer for some or all of the company.

Shares of G4S, the world's largest listed security company, recouped some initial losses to trade down 5.6 percent as of 0711 GMT, after it also said it would focus on its previously announced review to separate its cash solutions unit.

"The Group is making good progress in its plans to enable it to commence separation of the cash business in the second half of 2019," G4S said in a statement.

The change in Garda's plan, however, comes as a blow to G4S which has been working to rebuild its reputation after a series of scandals, most notably a failure in 2012 to provide enough guards for the Olympic Games in London.

G4S stock had hit a six-month high in April when news of a potential offer from Garda first surfaced.

(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; editing by Gopakumar Warrier)