The price of AUB Group shares dropped significantly today after it announced the collapse of a takeover proposal from a private equity consortium.

Swedish firm EQT had partnered with CVC Asia-Pacific on a joint bid for the giant listed insurance group at $45 per share, which valued the company at more than $5 billion.

But, as reported earlier in a Breaking News update, AUB told the Australian Securities Exchange this morning the deal will not progress after the parties agreed to terminate discussions.

At time of writing, shares were down more than 17% today to $30.77, after closing on Friday at $37.18. Before the offer became public, AUB had been trading at about $32 per share.

“The consortium has advised AUB that it does not intend to proceed with a binding proposal at a price of $45 per share,” AUB said today.

“Accordingly, the parties have agreed to terminate discussions. The AUB board believes that a price of $45 per share appropriately values AUB in the current market environment.”

MD and CEO Mike Emmett says AUB “continues to deliver robust performance, underpinned by a clear strategy and disciplined execution”.

“The recent due diligence process, while demanding, has reaffirmed our confidence in our improvement initiatives and long-term growth prospects,” he said.

“Now that discussions with the consortium have ended, our board and management team are fully focused on advancing our portfolio of organic growth initiatives and acquisition opportunities.”