Qantas declares takeover bid dead

SYDNEY -- The Qantas board has officially declared that a $9 billion takeover bid for the Australian airline has failed.

Qantas issued a statement as the consortium attempting the takeover, Airline Partners Australia, continued frantic efforts to complete the deal.

APA's bid initially collapsed Friday after it failed to garner 50 percent of shareholder acceptances. But after the deadline had passed, a U.S. investor backed the deal, which gave the consortium a thin 50.6 percent majority of acceptances.

The consortium appealed to the Takeovers Panel for a two-week extension of its takeover attempt, but the appeal was rejected.

The consortium -- which is led by Australia's giant Macquarie Bank and the U.S. private equity firm, Texas Pacific Group -- has challenged the ruling by asking for a review of the panel's decision.

The Qantas board said in its statement it "considers the current bid has failed. Accordingly, Qantas will proceed with strategies and plans for the future."

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