The board of food group Greencore has decided that it will not be making a new offer for UK company Northern Foods.
The two companies had announced merger plans in November, but Northern Foods withdrew its support in favour of a cash offer from businessman Ranjit Boparan.
Greenocre had said last week that it was considering its options after Boparan said a third of the Northern Foods' shareholders backed his bid for the firm.
Northern Foods, which makes Fox's biscuits and Goodfella's pizza, agreed in January to back a bid worth 73p per share from Boparan, valuing the business at around £342m sterling.
Greencore said today it had been working with a partner on a deal which would have seen them buy those parts of the Northern Foods business with the greatest potential for delivering benefits for Greencore. But it said this 'relatively complex' structure needed agreement from a range of parties, and the deal could not be done on good enough terms.
Shares in the company closed 2.5% higher at €1.20 in Dublin this evening.
