A consortium led by XRG, the investment arm of UAE state oil firm Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has called off an $18.7 billion takeover bid for Australia’s Santos.

The consortium, which also includes Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and US private equity firm Carlyle, said in a statement on Wednesday that it had “withdrawn its indicative offer and will not proceed with a binding offer” for Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer.

"While the consortium maintains a positive view of the Santos business, a combination of factors, when considered collectively, have impacted the consortium’s assessment of its indicative offer," it said.

"Following a comprehensive evaluation, and taking into account all commercial factors and the terms of the Scheme Implementation Agreement (SIA) required by the Santos Board, the consortium has determined that it will not be proceeding with the proposed transaction," the statement added, without providing further details.

In June, the group made an $18.7 billion nonbinding indicative proposal to acquire Santos in an all-cash deal worth 8.89 Australian dollars ($5.76) per share. Santos said at the time that the consortium’s offer came after it had rejected two previous offers made by the group in March, at $5.04 and $5.42 per share, which were previously not public.