Icelandic container line Eimskip has not managed to offload its ferry unit Seatours.
The company had signalled last August it could sell the subsidiary.
"After initiating a sales process, there was an interest in the company," it said.
"However prolonged discussions did not lead to a sale. We have now decided to discontinue the process and continue to run an excellent ferry service in Breidafjordur."
The failure was nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic, as the company admitted defeat before this took hold in Europe.
Seatours has two vessels and tourism interests.
The company's CEO Vilhelm Mar Thorsteinsson said last year: "A decision has been made to evaluate a potential divestment of Seatours, Eimskip’s subsidiary in sea-related tourism."
Takeover off for now
One deal that did bite the dust due to the pandemic was a $217m takeover of Eimskip by fish processor Samherji Holding, which was allowed to withdraw its mandatory offer by the country's financial watchdog.
The company boosted its stake in the liner and reefer operator to 30.1% in March.
But Samherji quickly submitted a notice to the Central Bank of Iceland's Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA), requesting an exemption from this requirement due to the turmoil caused by the pandemic.
In Denmark, Henrik Lind's investment fund Polaris is reported to have postponed a sales process for Danish ferry owner Molslinjen.
Sources told the Finans daily that a $1.1bn transaction was due to be concluded around Easter, but the coronavirus turmoil has ended any hope of completing a deal for now.
