Telus has suddenly pulled out of the bidding to acquire fellow Canadian phone company BCE Inc, reports The Globe & Mail.

The move comes just after the deadline passed for offers to be submitted to acquire BCE, Canada's largest phone company. Telus is second in the country.

A statement from Telus cites problems with the auction process as its reason for dropping out. Some advisers that helped BCE along in the process had previously described it as cumbersome.

Telus signaled its interest in BCE less than a week ago, making its decision to halt the pursuit that much more surprising. A merger between the number one and number two phone companies would have had significant regulatory hurdles to overcome.

Previous speculation, however, pegged Telus as a favorite for the BCE bid.