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Two US companies that had launched hard-fought campaigns to acquire smaller rivals have dropped the bids after the lockdown in the credit markets forced them to rethink. Walgreen withdrew a $2.8bn offer to buy Longs Drug Stores on Wednesday, citing the “deterioration of the national economic outlook” and claiming an extended takeover battle could hurt shareholders. Longs has consistently rejected Walgreen’s $75-per-share offer in favour of a $71.50-per-share bid from CVS Caremark, which it says holds less antitrust risk. Shares of Stewart Enterprises, which owns funeral homes and cemeteries, sank 29% to $5 per share after larger competitor Service Corporation withdrew an $11 per-share takeover bid valued at $1bn. In a regulatory filing, Service Corp said it had been asked to accept too many financing and antitrust risks, and left Stewart - which had initially rejected a lower offer - claiming it was still open to a deal. Bill Ackman, the hedge fund manager who had pushed for a higher bid for Longs, had claimed Longs’ real estate alone was worth the full value of CVS’ bid.