LONDON (Reuters) - SABMiller Plc (L:SAB) plans to ask UK regulators to extend again the deadline for Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (BR:ABI) to make a formal takeover offer, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the negotiations.
SABMiller intends to request that London's Panel on Takeovers and Mergers push back the 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline as both sides want more time to gain shareholder support and financing, the report said.
SABMiller declined to comment. AB InBev was not immediately available for comment.
The Takeover Panel had already granted a two-week extension from the original Oct. 14 deadline for an offer which would be worth more than $100 billion (65 billion pounds).
The world's No. 1 and 2 brewers said on Oct. 13 that they reached an agreement in principle whereby AB InBev would buy SABMiller and asked that the deadline be extended by two weeks to Oct. 28.
Some analysts had already been expecting another extension.
"Due diligence exercises usually take four to six weeks, so the two-week deadline ... will likely be extended," said Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) analysts in a note on Monday.
"We would expect a further two-week extension on the morning of 28 October, and wouldn't be surprised if another 1-2 week extension was made after that."