Retail tycoon Mr Philip Green has dropped his planned £9.1 billion sterling bid for Marks & Spencer but has left the door open for a fresh raid if the retailer's recovery plan runs aground.
Mr Green, the billionaire owner of Bhs department stores and the Arcadia fashion group, abandoned his 400 pence-per-share proposal after Mr Stuart Rose, head of Britain's biggest clothing retailer, refused to open the books of M&S to him.
Angered by his defeat, Mr Green warned that he and his retail empire, which includes the Bhs department stores and Top Shop, would remain a thorn in Mr Rose's side.
"They are going to have us breathing down their neck in every street and every shopping centre in the UK," Mr Green told BBC television. "Then we'll see who is the best retailer."
Mr Green's withdrawal, his second failed bid attempt on the high street icon in four years, marks a victory for Mr Rose, the retail expert parachuted in by Marks & Spencer to fend off its Monaco-based predator.
But Mr Green, who had won the support of M&S's biggest shareholder, made it clear he hadn't given up hope on owning the clothing, food and homewares store as it battles to win back ground lost to rivals such as Next and Asda.
"Revival reserves the right to make or participate in an offer within the next six months in the event that the board of M&S agrees to recommend an offer or a third party announces a firm intention to make an offer for M&S," the bid vehicle said.