Call centre operator Majorel breaks off talks over takeover by Sitel Group

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Call center operator Majorel on Monday said it had halted talks over its takeover by privately-held IT services company Sitel Group.

"Alignment could not be reached on the final structure of the transaction against the background of the current macro environment," Majorel said.

Sitel in June said it had reached a preliminary agreement to buy Majorel in a cash and shares deal that would include a 440 million euro ($440.9 million) cash payout to Majorel shareholders.

Both companies operate call centres and are based in Luxembourg. Majorel is listed on Euronext Amsterdam.

The new company would have been 44.9% owned by Sitel's majority shareholder the Mulliez family, with two 17.3% stakes held by Majorel shareholders Bertelsmann Luxembourg S.a.r.l and Saham respectively.

The companies in June said their revenues together would add up to around 5.4 billion euros.

($1 = 0.9979 euro)

(Reporting by Bart Meijer' editing by Jonathan Oatis)