Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media was yesterday forced to cut the offer price of shares in its iTouch wireless internet business virtually by half.

The company said it had encountered nervousness among potential investors after a series of disappointing flotations of hi-tech companies.

The shares, which had been priced at 100p to 130p valuing the business at up to £370m, have been set at 70p giving a capitalisation of £200m. Trading begins on Wednesday.

Ivan Fallon, iTouch chairman, said the company had suffered from the lack of any business on the market to compare itself against. The company is an internet portal offering content and services via mobile phones.

"In the end we had quite a robust institutional interest and we got a pretty realistic valuation," he said. The amount raised has been clawed back from £70m to about £49m as a result of the repricing, but this would not alter the business plan and would keep iTouch going for a couple of years. It operates in South Africa, Ireland, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Israel.