A consortium led by Capitau previously said it planned to offer 26 rand a share for all of Avusa, the publisher of several leading South African newspapers including financial daily Business Day, the Sunday Times broadsheet and the Sowetan tabloid.

That would have valued Avusa at 3.2 billion rand($447.4 billion), according to Thomson Reuters data.

Wednesday was the deadline for the Capitau to deliver a firm intention to make an offer, Avusa said. The consortium was unable to make the firm offer due to uncertainty over proposed income tax changes, Avusa said in a statement following the close of trade.

The consortium had received irrevocable undertakings in support of the proposed acquisition from holders of 59 percent of the Avusa shares.

Shares of Avusa were untraded on Wednesday, officially closing at 22.7 rand.

Copyright Reuters, 2011