(Reuters) - Australian retail-to-chemicals conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd <WES.AX> said on Thursday it would not pursue its proposal to buy rare earths miner Lynas Corp <LYC.AX>.
Noting Lynas' receipt of a renewed operating licence for its Malaysian processing plant earlier in the day, Wesfarmers said it "has been unable to progress a proposal".
In April, Wesfarmers said it was still interested in acquiring the only major producer of rare earth elements outside China and could table a less conditional bid after its earlier offer was rebuffed by Lynas' board.
Lynas had said the offer undervalued its intellectual property.
Wesfarmers' offer was conditional on Lynas receiving a renewal of its operating license. The company received a six-month extension for the license, which was announced last week but was shorter than what investors and analysts had expected.
Wesfarmers successfully bid for lithium miner Kidman Resources <KDR.AX> in May as part of its plan to diversify its interests and make a foray into the electric vehicle market. Its bid for Lynas was driven by a similar notion.
Rare earth miners outside China, the world's largest producer, have seen increased interest recently given that it has hinted it would use its supply of rare earths as a negotiating tactic in its trade war with the United States.
A Lynas representative was not available for comment.
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil and Ambar Warrick in BENGALURU; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Tom Hogue)
