United States-based food giant Kraft Heinz Company on Sunday withdrew a $143-billion (approximately Rs 9.57 lakh crore) acquisition offer for Unilever. The two companies announced the development, saying that Kraft Heinz had “amicably” withdrawn its acquisition offer for its rival, AP reported. The potential deal would have seen the merged entity compete with Nestle for the position of the world’s largest packaged food manufacturer.

Kraft spokesperson Michael Mullen said that while the company had intended to “proceed on a friendly basis” for the acquisition, “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,” Mullen said, according to Reuters.

However, the Reuters report said that Kraft had not expected to face any resistance from Unilever regarding the bid. Some of the concerns raised during initial talks included potential government scrutiny of the acquisition by the United Kingdom (where Unilever is based) as well as differences between the two companies’ business models and work cultures, Reuters reported quoting unidentified sources.

Kraft also withdrew its offer because it felt it was too difficult to negotiate a deal as its bid had been made public at an early stage. “Kraft Heinz’s interest was made public at an extremely early stage,” Mullen said. The company disclosed its bid on Friday as per British law. Under current rules, Kraft’s withdrawal means the company will not be able to make another offer for Unilever for six months.