Discussions on a potential buyout of operator group Millicom by Apollo Global Management and former Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure’s investment company were terminated without a deal being struck.

In a brief stock market statement Millicom announced an end to the talks, which were first disclosed by the company in January. The operator did not provide a reason as to why the talks broke down or which party made the decision to walk away.

The company confirmed discussions were underway in January after Financial Times (FT) reported the move was afoot. At the time, the publication noted Millicom would be valued at around $9 billion, despite sizeable debt of around $6.9 billion.

FT reports at the time claimed Claure and Apollo were trying to structure a bid which would avoid them repaying or refinancing existing debt.

The operator group provides communications services across nine markets in central and south America, alongside various TV, mobile money and enterprise units.

As of the end of March, it had almost 46 million mobile customers across its operations.