Wine giant Constellation Brands Inc. has broken off talks to merge part of its Australian and U.K. operations with smaller rival Australian Vintage Ltd. The companies, which announced the possibility of a deal in November, "mutually decided" to end the discussions and focus on their respective businesses, according to a statement by Constellation Chief Executive Rob Sands. The talks between Constellation, the world's largest wine producer, and Australian Vintage were aimed at combating a slump in the Australian wine industry. The companies had discussed forming a new company that would trade on the Australian Securities Exchange.