(Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday that candy giant Mars' proposed $36 billion takeover of Pringles maker Kellanova ( K ) did not meet the standard for an anticompetitive merger and that the regulator was ending its review of the deal.

"Our job is to determine whether there is a violation of American law that we can prove in court. And once we've concluded there is not, our job is to get out of the way," Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera said in an FTC statement announcing the early termination of the investigation.