PlanetOut Corp. and Liberation Publications Inc. (LPI) announced the termination of their plans to merge the two companies last week.

PlanetOut, an online media and services company serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community and LPI, the publisher of The Advocate and Out magazines and books targeting the gay and lesbian market attributed the latest development to changes in the investment environment and the announcement of the merger of PlanetOut with Online Partners (Gay.com).

However, LPI and PlanetOut will continue to co-operate such as providing The Advocate's headline news content to PlanetOut, and various marketing efforts.