(Telecompaper) The possibility of a merger between Wind and 3 Italia, the Italian mobile phone units of Vimpelcom and Hutchison Whampoa, has been called off by Vimpelcom after the companies failed to reach an agreement. Without identifying the potential partner, Vimpelcom confirmed in a statement that it had "held discussions to explore the potential value which would accrue to shareholders through a 50-50 joint venture in Italy," going on to add that "no conclusion to these discussions was reached." The companies have been holding on-off talks since December, with Wind's debt of around EUR 9.5 billion representing the main a hurdle to a deal, but the debt refinancing plan implemented by Vimpelcom in April gave fresh impetus to a possible merger, with Italian press reports stating that Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank had been working on behalf of 3 Italia and Wind respectively to iron out any remaining problems. In its statement Vimpelcom added that it will continue to "explore value-adding transactions."