will drop a plan tolodge a rival bid forInvesta Office Fund,or IOF, The Australian reported April4, citing unnamed executives.

Thecompany is believed to have lost interest in countering 's bid, which wasrecently improved to includea special cash distribution of 7 Australian cents if the takeover proposalbecomes effective.

Mirvacplans to focus on growing its office property portfolio instead, including thedevelopment of two major office towers in Sydney, according to the executivescited by the publication.

However,The Australian noted that Mirvaccould revive its plan for a competing offer with prominent backers if DEXUSfails to secure a 75% approval from IOF unit holders at a scheduled meeting onApril 15.

Itis expected that Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing will vote its stake inIOF to oppose the DEXUS merger deal, according to the publication. The companyrecently received a court rulingthat allowed it to vote its 8.9% stake, held through affiliate Post SalePortfolio Issuer Pty. Ltd.

Priorto the court order, DEXUS requestedAustralia's Takeovers Panel to mediate in the merger transaction.

As of April 1, US$1 wasequivalent to A$1.31.