The WSJ report preceded official confirmation that the deal was off.
Acxiom will receive $65m in cash as compensation for the termination of the merger agreement. It will remain listed on the US Nasdaq stock exchange.
At the same time as Acxiom confirmed the news it put out a statement to say company leader Charles D Morgan is to retire and it is searching for a successor.
Morgan, who has been at the company for 35 years, said he had planned to retire anyway had the takeover deal gone through: "I had been considering stepping down as the leader of Acxiom and thought the completion of our going-private transaction would be the natural time to begin an orderly transaction. As Acxiom will now remain public it is the right time for a change."
The Acxiom deal, agreed in May, had sparked speculation this side of the Atlantic the company would sell off its European operations. UK data company DLG declared an interest in buying them when the deal was agreed.