Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox decided to pull its $80 billion offer to buy Time Warner Inc. on Tuesday, abandoning plans to create one of the world's largest media conglomerates.
The surprise announcement appeared to cut short what many investors had viewed as an inevitable battle of attrition over a deal that would have joined two of Hollywood's biggest studios and TV networks from TNT to Fox News.
Murdoch, who is Fox's chairman and CEO, cited Time Warner's management and its board's refusal to come to the table to discuss a takeover as one reason for the stunning turnabout.