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Kraft Heinz (KHC) has walked away from its shock £115bn bid for Unilever (ULVR).

In a joint statement the pair of fmcg giants announced Kraft Heinz has “amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of the two companies”.

The statement added: “Unilever and Kraft Heinz hold each other in high regard. Kraft Heinz has the utmost respect for the culture, strategy and leadership of Unilever.”

Under UK takeover rules Kraft Heinz will be prevented from making a further approach for six months.

Unilever shares had jumped 13.4% on Friday to a record high of 3,797p after the shock announcement from Kraft Heinz confirming speculation it had made an approach to the Anglo Dutch consumer goods group.

Unilever strongly rejected the uninvited approach, telling the market that the offer of $50 (£40) a share “fundamentally undervalues Unilever” and it “sees no merit, either financial or strategic, for Unilever’s shareholders”.

The potential deal also raised concerns amongst unions, the wider grocery industry and politicians, with  Prime Minister Theresa May reportedly ordering officials to investigate the proposal.

Unilever shares are back down 7.3% this morning to 3,521.5p on the news that no new bid will be made.

However, the shares remain 3.9% higher than at start of trading on Friday as speculation persists that the two business may yet strike a deal for part or the entirety of Unilever’s food portfolio.

Morning update

Away from all the excitement over the Kraft Heinz/Unilever bid there is very little else of note on the markets this morning.

Despite Unilever’s shares falling back, the FTSE 100 is up 0.1% to 7,309.2pts.

Early movers include Science in Sport (SIS), up 4.1% to 89.5p, Hotel Chocolat (HOTC) up 3.9% to 253.9p and Dairy Crest (DCG), up 1.7% to 582p.

Significant fallers include Imperial Brands (IMB), down 1.3% to 3,731p, PZ Cussons (PZC), down 1.1% to 318.6p and Reckitt Benckiser (RB), down 1% to 7,028p. Also falling are Real Good Food (RGD), down 3.7% to 31.3p, Hilton Food Group (HFG) down 2.3% to 635p and Total Produce (TOT), down 2.2% to 152.1p.

This week in the City

The major event this week looks to be the announcement tomorrow of Walmart’s (WMT) fourth quarter and full-year results, which will also bring an update on the turnaround progress of Asda under Sean Clarke.

Also tomorrow is full year results from Kerry Group (KGA), while on Wednesday private label consumer goods manufacturer McBride (MCB) is scheduled to issue its interim results. Wednesday also brings the maiden full year results from City success story Hotel Chocolat (HOTC).

Thursday brings full year results from British American Tobacco (BAT), while fellow consumer goods producer Henkel (HEN) is also scheduled to release its full year trading figures on Thursday and Brazilian food group Marfrig has fourth quarter results.

The week is light on economic news in the UK, with an update on public sector borrowing tomorrow the most notable item in the diary. The House of Lords debates the Article 50 Brexit bill this morning, but is not thought likely to throw a spanner in the process.

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