Indian jewelry maker and retailer Gitanjali Gems Ltd. has reportedly pulled out of the running to buy stores formerly owned by bankrupt Whitehall Jewelers, Inc.

“We offered them a price which was not acceptable (to them),” company chairman Mehul Choksi told the Economic Times of India on Aug. 28.

The publication reports that Gitanjali was planning to buy 250 stores of Whitehall, out of the total 375 stores, along with the merchandise, which would have boosted the Indian company’s presence in the U.S. However, Choksi told JCK previously that it was hoping to purchase up to 150 stores.

“We are still looking at the option of buying 100 stores of Whitehall by participating in the chain’s liquidation process,” Choksi told the publication, which is in line with what Gitanjali’s U.S. representative told JCK recently.

Gitanjali owns the Samuels and Rogers jewelry chain in the U.S. The company, a DTC sightholder, is a diamond and jewelry manufacturer and retailer, with vast holdings that include approximately 20 retail brands in India and approximately 175 retail outlets in the Middle East, China, and Japan.

Gitanjali owns the Samuels and Rogers jewelry chains in the U.S. The company, a DTC sightholder, is a diamond and jewelry manufacturer and retailer, with vast holdings that include approximately 20 retail brands in India and approximately 175 retail outlets in the Middle East, China, and Japan.

JCK