Uber and Lufthansa have cancelled a planned US merger.

Uber, the ride-sharing company with a US headquarters in San Francisco, had been in talks with the French and German car companies, but they had come under pressure to halt talks as a result of the Paris terror attacks.

In a statement, Uber said it had decided to “dismantle” the deal in the wake of the attacks.

“While the US government has been supportive of our partnership, there is no question the need to maintain the level of safety and security for our riders, employees, drivers and other partners in the US,” the company said.

“We are cancelling the merger with Lyft.”

The merger between Uber and two US rivals, Lyft and Sidecar, was already in the works when the Paris attacks struck in November, but was put on hold.

Uber had been considering the acquisition of both companies.

A statement from Uber said the merger was cancelled due to the threat of a terrorist attack in France.

“We are disappointed by this decision, but have no further comment at this time,” it said.

The decision to close down the deal came after Uber said that it had lost $1bn (£680m) of its valuation in the first quarter of 2017.

The company had said that the deal would be profitable in its first year, but the financial losses made it more difficult to justify the cost of the merger.

Lufthasa had already said it would keep its US headquarters and the merger would not affect the company’s overall presence in the region.

The companies were due to announce a merger of their respective services on Monday.