Tech giant Samsung Electronics Company held talks with General Electric about buying the US company's appliances businesses but negotiations broke down on antitrust issues, South Korea's Yonhap News agency reported on Saturday.

The report said Samsung initiated the talks after General Electric (GE) walked away from a deal with Electrolux AB due to opposition from US antitrust regulators.

Without citing its sources, Yonhap said GE ended talks with Samsung after U.S. regulators expressed concerns about antitrust issues. The South Korean firm is a major player in the U.S. appliances market.

China's Haier Group said it would buy the GE business for $5.4 billion.

A Samsung spokeswoman declined to comment, while GE could not be immediately reached for comment.-Reuters