NEW YORK--PricewaterhouseCoopers today said that discussions with Hewlett-Packard regarding a proposed acquisition by HP of PwC's management consulting business have ended. "Our management consulting practice is a world-class operation," said PricewaterhouseCoopers CEO James J. Schiro. "It is unfortunate that market conditions caused our discussions to terminate. "Our priorities," said Mr. Schiro, "continue to be serving our clients effectively, growing our business and providing our people with challenging and rewarding career opportunities." PricewaterhouseCoopers said it will go forward with its previously stated plans to restructure its business to respond to the evolving needs of its clients in the networked economy. "We remain committed to developing a structure that will allow all our businesses to flourish while maintaining the professional independence and objectivity necessary to ensure healthy capital markets," Mr. Schiro said. PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwcglobal.com) is the world's largest professional services organisation. Drawing on the knowledge and skills of more than 150,000 people in 150 countries, we help our clients solve complex business problems and measurably enhance their ability to build value, manage risk and improve performance in an Internet-enabled world.