There falls another bigger deal: Samsung has withdrawn its proposal to acquire SanDisk…it launched a public bid for $26 per share in cash last month. The memory card maker rejected the bid right after, and it was only a matter of time before Samsung had to cave in, considering the current economic climate (not conducive to public takeovers), and of course SanDisk’s less-than-stellar earnings yesterday.

SEE ALSO: Earnings: SanDisk: Samsung ‘Significantly Undervalues’ Our Company And IP

From Yoon Woo Lee, the CEO of Samsung, in a public letter of to SanDisk’s board: “We have obligations to our own shareholders which require that we take a disciplined approach, particularly with respect to significant initiatives such as this. That disciplined approach requires that we squarely face the growing uncertainties in your business, which may continue to deteriorate in this difficult economic environment and further impact your standalone value. Your recently announced third quarter results serve only to illustrate this risk.  Your surprise announcements of a quarter billion dollar operating loss, a hurried renegotiation of your relationship with Toshiba and major job losses across your organization all point to a considerable increase in your risk profile and a material deterioration in value…As a result of these developments, we are no longer interested in acquiring SanDisk (NSDQ: SNDK) at $26/share.”

Meanwhile, SanDisk has responded to this: “From the start of this process SanDisk’s Board has remained open to a transaction that recognizes SanDisk’s long-term value and contains the right protections for SanDisk’s shareholders. We repeatedly outlined a clear path to hold further discussions, including most recently in our letter on September 15, and Samsung consistently chose to ignore that path and, in fact, never contacted SanDisk regarding their proposal after we delivered our letter. We believe this raises questions about the real motivations behind Samsung’s offer.”