The proposed $5.4 billion merger between Intel and Israeli contract chipmaker Tower Semiconductor has been amicably cancelled since neither company was able to obtain regulatory approvals in a timely manner, the firms announced on Wednesday.

Both in the US and Tel Aviv, shares of the Israeli business decreased by nearly 9%.

Tower will get a termination fee of $353 million from Intel, which agreed to purchase it last year, the company said in a statement.

Regarding the regulatory permissions, neither Tower nor Intel gave any specifics.

Late on Tuesday, Reuters claimed that Intel will end the agreement after its contract expired without receiving Chinese regulatory permission.

Pat Gelsinger, the chief executive of Intel, had previously stated that he was working to get the Tower acquisition approved by Chinese regulators and had just recently traveled there to speak with government representatives.

However, Gelsinger also stated that despite the Tower sale, Intel was continuing to invest in its foundry division, which produces chips for other businesses.

The largest ever foreign investment in Israel, Intel agreed to invest $25 billion in a new factory there, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement in June.

As a result, investors had given up on the Tower deal. Tuesday’s closing price for Tower’s Nasdaq-listed shares was $33.78; however, the sale price of $53 per share was significantly higher.