LONDON -- SABMiller Plc plans to ask U.K. regulators to again extend a deadline for Anheuser-Busch InBev NV to make a formal takeover offer, according to reports. Both sides want more time to shore up shareholder support and financing, according to 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, Bloomberg and others reported. While talks are progressing, the companies would like more time to canvass shareholders and complete the loan package and legal documentation, sources said.
The Takeover Panel already granted a two-week extension from the original Oct. 14 deadline. AB InBev and SABMiller are seeking at least one more week, according to reports. If another delay is given, London-based SABMiller must “promptly” announce the new deadline and comment on the status of negotiations, according to U.K. takeover rules. Representatives for SABMiller and AB InBev declined to comment. The Takeover Panel didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The companies reached a tentative agreement earlier this month after weeks of haggling over the price, a process that began Sept. 14. The proposed $106-billion takeover would give AB InBev brands such as Peroni and Grolsch and create a company controlling about half of the industry’s profit. The Belgian suitor must pay a fee of $3 billion if it fails to get the necessary approvals.
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