Portuguese operator Sonaecom said Wednesday that it has offloaded all its shares – a total of just over 1 per cent – in larger rival Portugal Telecom.

The move comes after shareholders in Portugal Telecom yet again turned down an Eur11.8bn hostile takeover bid from smaller rival Sonaecom last week.

Portugal Telecom has fended off increasingly larger bids from Sonaecom for around a year now, always maintaining that the offers were too low.

It now appears that Sonaecom has given up on its takeover plan.

The Portuguese incumbent had said it would distribute some Eur6.2bn to shareholders over the next three years through dividends and a share buyback programme if they voted against the takeover.