BHP (ASX:BHP) Group Ltd (LSE:BHP, ASX:BHP) decided to ditch its takeover offer for Anglo American (JO:AGLJ) PLC after it turned down a request for more time.
The deadline for the Australian mining giant to make a firm offer or walk away was 5pm today, and it chose the latter.
BHP chief executive Mike Henry said in a statement just before the London close: "BHP will not be making a firm offer for Anglo American."
He suggested the company was not make further commitments, as demanded by the FTSE 100-listed company.
"While we believed that our proposal for Anglo American was a compelling opportunity to effectively grow the pie of value for both sets of shareholders, we were unable to reach agreement with Anglo American on our specific views in respect of South African regulatory risk and cost and, despite seeking to engage constructively and numerous requests, we were not able to access from Anglo American key information required to formulate measures to address the excess risk they perceive."
Early today, BHP requested an extension to its 'put up or shut up' takeover deadline, offering new concessions, including a potential 'reverse break fee', and saying it wanted to continue talks.
But after Anglo and BHP last week agreed on extending the deadline for BHP to make an offer to today, Anglo said this morning that its board thinks not enough had been offered to address its concerns about the "disproportionate execution risk" about the deal structure and the value for shareholders.