NEW YORK (AP) — Twenty-First Century Fox is abandoning its attempt to take over Time Warner in a proposed deal that would have combined two of the world's biggest media companies.

The about-face announced Tuesday comes three weeks after Time Warner Inc. revealed that it had rejected 21st Century Fox's unsolicited $76 billion buyout offer.

Besides that rebuff, 21st Century Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch cited a decline in his New York company's stock price as one of the reasons for ending the pursuit of Time Warner.

With the proposed deal off the table, 21st Century Fox's board approved a plan to spend $6 billion buying back the company's stock during the next year.