CWW gives Vodafone some extra thinking time

With just 25 minutes to go before the 17:00 bid deadline on Thursday, telecoms group Cable and Wireless Worldwide (CWW) said it had extended the time required for Vodafone to come up with a formal offer for the group.

Shares sank by as much as 24% in early trading today on the news that India's Tata Communications was out of the running after having decided not to bid, leaving Vodafone the only shark circling the ship.

CWW announced late afternoon that it would now be pushing the deadline back to 12:00 on April 23rd. Shares were down just 8% by the close.

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The group confirmed that is still in advanced discussions with the FTSE 100 telecoms giant "with a view to establishing whether or not they might result in a formal offer for the company which the board of Cable & Wireless Worldwide would be willing to recommend."

As always, the company said: "There can be no certainty that any offer will be made, nor as to the terms of any offer."

BC