UK housebuilder Galliford Try has pulled out of an attempt to buy ailing rival Bovis.
The move ends months of uncertainty surrounding the firm, which said it could thrive alone as it appointed a new chief executive.
Bovis, whose CEO quit in January following a profit warning resulting from a failure to build enough homes on time, has been subject to takeover speculation since a major shareholder wrote to another builder suggesting a tie-up earlier this year.
It rejected bids from Redrow and Galliford Try last month but remained in talks with the latter.
Both firms said today they had failed to reach an agreement, ending any possible buyout.
"The merger proposal... failed to reflect the underlying value of the Bovis business," Bovis said in a statement.
"It believes that an independent strategy under the leadership of Greg Fitzgerald will deliver greater value for shareholders," it said.
Fitzgerald, a former chief executive of Galliford Try where he spent 30 years of his career, will join Bovis on April 18 to continue the turnaround of the firm, which said its current sales and reservations were in line with expectations.
A tie-up between Bovis and Galliford Try would have created Britain's fifth largest housebuilder by volume and been the first major consolidation in the sector for nearly a decade.
Galliford's proposal had valued the entire issued equity of Bovis at £1.19 billion, or 886 pence per share and envisaged an equity split of 52.25% for Galliford shareholders and 47.75% for Bovis shareholders.
