Australian iron-ore miner Murchison Metals announced that it will abandon a proposed merger with Midwest Corp, saying that it could not reach an agreement with Sinosteel, which intends to gain a controlling stake in Midwest, the Wall Street Journal reported. Murchison lost a vote in which it needed 50.1% of Midwest’s shareholders to favor its US$1.46 billion bid. Sinosteel announced that it had increased its share in Midwest from 43.6% to 45.6%. Murchison said it did not plan to accept Sinosteel’s offer for its 10% share of Midwest.