Hopes for a quick £2.3 billion sale of Signet, owner of High Street jewellery chains H. Samuel and Ernest Jones, faded this weekend. Insiders said a bid was far from certain. Last week, private equity firms KKR and Apax were reported to be considering a 132p-per-share offer. But it is thought no formal offer has been discussed. The news came just weeks after Finacial Mail revealed that Signet and US jewellery giant Zale Corporation, owner of Zales jewellery stores had been in talks about a merger that was later abandoned.