Top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co.'s bid to buy the country's leading cable TV operator was officially terminated following the antitrust watchdog's earlier decision to reject the plan, the science ministry said Thursday.

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said it reached a decision not to allow SK Telecom's bid to purchase CJ Hellovision Co. from its parent firm CJ O Shopping, officially terminating the evaluation process of what would have been one the country's biggest mergers and acquisitions this year.

Last week, the Fair Trade Commission put the brakes on a merger between the two giants in the local telecommunications and broadcasting sector, expressing concerns that the merger would undermine competition in the market.

"The evaluation process was officially terminated as there is no actual profit following the FTC's decision and SK Telecom's withdrawal," said a ministry official.

SK Telecom, with a market share of more than 50 percent, agreed to acquire a 53.9 percent stake in CJ HelloVision for 1 trillion won ($870 million) in November last year.

The watchdog has been looking into the SK Telecom-CJ HelloVision takeover bid for months as every South Korean company with 2 trillion won or more in assets or revenue is subject to a prior review by the FTC of any M&A bids under the country's fair trade law. (Yonhap)