Harry Hill seems mildly surprised that anyone would be interested in talking to him about the company he set up “partly by accident and partly by design” nearly a quarter of a century ago. It’s a very British brand of reticence.

Rupert Murdoch’s Australian property listing firm REA Group said Monday it would no longer seek to buy UK property portal Rightmove.

REA, which is majority-controlled by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, has until the end of September to make a formal offer or walk away under UK takeover rules. “Given the lack of communication between the two and the large equity component, we see the probability of deal completion as quite low,” Citigroup analysts wrote in a note on Wednesday.

REA Group, which is majority-owned by the tycoon's News Corp group, confirmed it will not make a firm offer for Rightmove, sending shares in the FTSE 100 listed property portal slumping by 7%

Rupert Murdoch-owned Australian property listing firm REA Group said on Monday it is dropping its pursuit of real estate portal Rightmove after the UK company rejected its sweetened $8.29 billion fourth proposal earlier in the day.

Shares of Rupert Murdoch-backed REA Group ($AU:REA) gained almost 5% after the company announced its official withdrawal from the Rightmove PLC

Rightmove, the UK’s leading real estate portal, has firmly rejected a £6.2 billion takeover bid from REA Group, the Australian property giant backed by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. This latest bid marks REA’s fourth attempt to acquire the company,