Kraft Heinz has pulled its GBP112bn (US$139.1bn) takeover bid for consumer goods giant Unilever.

“Unilever and Kraft Heinz hereby announce that Kraft Heinz has amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of the two companies,” the groups said in a joint statement. “Unilever and Kraft Heinz hold each other in high regard. Kraft Heinz has the utmost respect for the culture, strategy and leadership of Unilever.”

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Kraft Heinz shocked the markets on Friday (17 February) when it revealed Unilever management had rejected a proposed takeover offer. At the time, a spokesperson for Kraft Heinz told just-food the company was still “working to reach agreement on the terms of a transaction”. 

Kraft Heinz offered GBP40 (US$50) per Unilever share, of which $30.23 would be in cash, with the rest 0.222 new shares in the combined entity. The proposed offer represented a multiple of 14.5 times Unilever’s 2016 EBITDA.

According to a report in The Financial Times yesterday (19 February), Kraft Heinz’s main backers – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Brazilian private-equity group 3G Capital – decided that a protracted takeover battle “would have done more harm than good”. 

A spokesperson for Kraft Heinz told just-food the company’s “interest was made public at an extremely early stage”. 

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The spokesperson continued: “Our intention was to proceed on a friendly basis, but it was made clear Unilever did not wish to pursue a transaction. It is best to step away early so both companies can focus on their own independent plans to generate value. We remain focused on driving long-term value while always putting our consumers first.”

Kraft Heinz will be blocked by UK takeover regulations from making a further approach for Unilever for a period of six months.