* Alinta IPO put off to Q1 2017
* Owners say investor interest was strong (Adds Alinta statement)
MELBOURNE, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Private equity firm TPG and its partners said on Friday they have decided to postpone the float of Alinta Energy, which would have been Australia's biggest this year, to the first quarter of 2017, due to market jitters in the wake of the U.S. election.
The owners had planned to launch the prospectus for Alinta, valued at around A$3 billion ($2.3 billion) including debt, last Monday and then opted to wait a week to see what happened following the U.S. presidential vote on Tuesday.
With global market volatility having spiked in the wake of Republican Donald Trump's shock win, the owners, led by TPG, shelved it to the new year.
"As flagged, this decision was made due to the potential for market volatility following the U.S. election and the proximity to Christmas," a spokesman said in an emailed statement.
"Investor interest has been strong, and the shareholders believe the rescheduling will allow for the best outcome for the current and future owners of the business."
Macquarie, UBS, and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) are leading the planned float alongside Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN).
The decision comes following the debut this week of another TPG float, Inghams Group ING.AX , after it halved the listing size to foster a stronger opening amid generally weak investor sentiment towards recent initial public offerings.
On their fourth day of trading, Ingham shares on Friday were 2.5 percent above the offer price of A$3.15.