Apax Partners, the private equity firm, has called off talks about a £400m bid for Alliance Pharma, the London-listed company which owns brands including Forceval vitamin supplements and Nizoral shampoo.

Sky News has learnt that Apax was in discussions until this week about an offer for the company, which has a market value of about £320m.

It was unclear on Wednesday why the buyout firm had stepped away from the talks, or whether any other suitors were engaged with Alliance Pharma.

Discussions with Apax are said to have been under way for some time.

Alliance Pharma holds the rights to approximately 80 consumer healthcare brands and prescription medicines.

Others in its portfolio include Amberen, Hydromol and MacuShield.

In its annual results in March, the company said trading "had not been as strong as had been anticipated", adding that revenue growth had been affected by COVID-19 lockdowns in China.

Alliance Pharma's shares have halved during the last 12 months, and were trading at around 60.3p on Wednesday afternoon.

The talks have emerged during a flurry of takeover bids for London-listed companies, with THG, Dechra and Wood Group all having received approaches in recent weeks.

Apax and Alliance Pharma both declined to comment.