A KKR & Co (NYSE:KKR) Inc-led group, has withdrawn a A$20 billion (USD 13 billion) bid for Australian hospital operator Ramsay Health Care after talks hit a deadlock. This destroyed Australia’s biggest deal of the year and sent the target’s shares tumbling.

On Monday, the decision announced by both sides drew a line under a takeover saga that has been running since April and highlighted the volatility of dealmaking at a time of heightened disruption of capital markets and operating logistics.

Reportedly, the would-be buyers had proposed paying A$88 per share in cash for the company in April but slashed the cash component in August after Ramsay reported a worse than expected 39 per cent decline in annual profit, blaming COVID-19-related staffing issues.

Around the world, central banks had jacked up interest rates – and borrowing costs amid raging inflation. Last month, Ramsay stated the KKR-led group had notified it that it would not improve on what Ramsay considered a ‘meaningfully inferior’ offer due to the target company’s weak business performance.

Shares of Ramsay dropped as much as 7 per cent in morning trading, against a 2 per cent fall on the broader market, as any remaining hopes a deal might eventuate evaporated. The stock was last trading at A$57.64, one-third below the initial indicative buyout price, which Ramsay’s biggest shareholder had supported.