The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Allied Gold has called off its $5.5-billion takeover deal with Zijin Gold after the deal failed to win approval from China's foreign investment regulator. The Globe's Niall McGee writes that the transaction was originally supposed to close by May 29, but the target date was later pushed back to July 29. Allied's Peter Marrone told The Globe that the revised deadline wasn't going to be met, in part because China had not yet approved the transaction. Allied, he added, was also dealing with a host of other issues important to the close, including settling tax matters, as well as finalizing streaming, lending and security arrangements. In a statement Wednesday, Allied attributed the termination of the acquisition to "broader external factors applicable to cross-border transactions of this scale." Allied operates mines in Mali and Ivory Coast, producing about 375,000 ounces of gold a year, and is soon starting up a new mine in Ethiopia. Shares in Allied fell by 18.6 per cent Wednesday to close at $24 apiece. Mr. Marrone said the failure to obtain approval from the regulator appears to be a big-picture policy decision in China, and not directly tied to his company.