All the controversy over GEC Plc’s token penny a share bid for Ferranti International Plc was rendered vain yesterday when GEC withdrew its bid for the company after its due diligence searches threw up unanticipated new liabilities, and Ferranti immediately asked its bankers to appoint receivers. Ferranti said the offer from GEC had been conditional on GEC not discovering any matter materially adverse to the financial condition or prospects of the wider offeree group. Ferranti had debts of over UKP100m and its workforce had been cut to under 4,000 from the 23,000 it had before the fraud at its International Signal & Control acquisition was discovered in 1989. GEC is now expected to pick up from the receivers only the parts of Ferranti that it wants.