LONDON — The American paint and chemicals giant PPG Industries said on Thursday that it had dropped its monthslong pursuit of Akzo Nobel, the Dutch maker of Dulux paint, after failing to persuade its rival’s management to engage in merger talks.

PPG had faced a deadline on Thursday under Dutch takeover rules to make a formal offer for Akzo Nobel, which had repeatedly rejected its overtures. Akzo Nobel had said that PPG’s offers undervalued the company and that PPG had done little to address its concerns about potential antitrust issues that could have derailed a merger.

The decision was a victory for the Dutch company’s management, which had also faced stiff pressure to participate in takeover talks from Elliott Management, the American hedge fund founded by the billionaire Paul E. Singer, and from other shareholders.

“We were hopeful throughout this process that Akzo Nobel’s boards would see the merits of our compelling proposal to combine our two great companies and create significant shareholder value and a more sustainable business for the future,” Michael H. McGarry, the PPG chairman and chief executive, said in a news release.

But the Dutch company had “consistently refused to engage and did not respond to our call or letter,” he said. “As a result, we believe it is in the best interests of PPG and its shareholders to withdraw our proposal to Akzo Nobel at this time.”

PPG first approached Akzo Nobel in March and made three takeover offers, the most recent valuing the company at 24.6 billion euros, or about $28 billion.

The American company called its third offer in April its “one last invitation” to Akzo Nobel’s management.

Despite that, PPG, which owns the Glidden, Olympic and Pittsburgh Paints brands, said on Thursday that it made a further attempt last week to engage with Akzo Nobel, but that the Dutch company did not respond.

PPG made its first bid shortly before Dutch elections in which potential foreign takeovers of the country’s companies became a prominent issue.

In February, Kraft Heinz briefly flirted with the idea of buying Unilever, the British-Dutch maker of Dove soap, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, but it quickly abandoned its approach amid a public backlash.

Akzo Nobel, based in Amsterdam, is one of the world’s largest makers of paints and coatings, employing 45,000 people in about 80 countries. It reported revenue of €14.2 billion last year.

Since the PPG approach in April, Akzo Nobel has focused on reviewing its plans as a stand-alone company, including bringing forward a potential spinoff of its specialty chemicals arm, which had €4.8 billion in revenue last year.

As part of a strategy update, the company said it would return as much as €1.6 billion to investors through dividends, and it increased its forecasts for 2020. It said it would seek to spin off the specialty chemicals business within 12 months.

Despite Akzo Nobel’s plans as a stand-alone company, a vocal group of shareholders, including Elliott, pushed for management to engage in discussions with PPG.

Elliott led a group of shareholders that had sought a special meeting to replace Akzo Nobel’s chairman, Antony Burgmans.

Akzo Nobel rejected the proposal and Elliott took the company to court, but a Dutch court ruled in favor of the company this week.

Shares of Akzo Nobel were down about 2 percent in midday trading in Amsterdam on Thursday.