Shareholders in Australian media firm APN News & Media have rejected Irish media tycoon Tony O'Reilly's $3 billion (£1.5 billion) takeover bid.
Despite the "full support" of APN's independent board less than the required 75 per cent of shareholders approved the consortium's bid.
Mr O'Reilly's Independent News and Media already owns a 40 per cent stake in APN but was unable to seize complete control of the company.
Its offer was worth $6.20 (£3.12) a share and was backed by private equity firms The Carlyle Group and Providence Equity.
But it is thought to have been rebuffed because it failed to value the company sufficiently highly. The rejection of major stakeholders in the firm, including Perpetual Investment, caused the rejection.
Today's failed attempt to seize control of an Australian company follows the collapse of a private equity bid against Australian airline Quantas.
APN was targeted by Independent News and Media after the the Australian parliament passed legislation permitting the ownership of media firms by foreign companies in September last year.
Shares in Independent News and Media dropped by 0.71 per cent on early morning trading.
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