Tata Communications and Vodafone have been given time till April 19 for making the acquisition bids for British telecom group Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW). Fibre network operator-- CWW had sought UK government's panel on takeovers and mergers’ approval for extension of deadline, which was set to expire on March 30, 2012.
The extension of deadlines will enable Vodafone and TCL to establish whether or not their preliminary discussions with CWW might result in a formal offer for the company which the board of CWW would be willing to recommend.
Tata Communication will be evaluating a possible cash offer for CWW and has so far amassed $2 billion war chest. The Mumbai-based company has hired Morgan Stanley to work alongside Standard Chartered, its long-term adviser on the deal. State Bank of India and Australia and New Zealand Bank are believed to have also joined the consortium of lenders led by Standard Chartered.
CWW owns fixed lines that are used by mobile operators to provide links to mobile transmitters and switching offices. It also provides voice, data and hosting services to major British companies such as Next, Tesco and United Utilities, and retains an international cable network connecting more than 150 countries.
