Deadline for expressions of interest for CWW postponed to April 19

Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) has extended the deadline for Vodafone Group and Tata Communications to make clear whether they have firm intentions to make offers to acquire the UK-based telco. The UK Panel on Takeovers and Mergers has agreed to move the deadline from 5pm today to 5pm on April 19, following a request from CWW.

The extension is aimed at allowing the two suitors to decide whether they will make a formal bid for the company that the board would be willing to recommend. However, the CWW statement added that there is currently “no certainty that any offer will be made, nor as to the terms of any offer.”

Vodafone and Tata reportedly requested an extension to the deadline following preliminary discussions due to a lack of sufficient information about CWW’s operations from the company’s senior management. The information is needed so that the companies can make a fully-informed decision on whether to make formal bids.

Tata first expressed an interest in CWW in March and appears to be well prepared to make a bid, having reportedly raised a loan of US$2 billion and drafted in Morgan Stanley to help work on the deal.

Vodafone’s interest in CWW was first reported in February. However, the company’s board is believed to be split in opinion over whether to pursue the acquisition.

CWW was spun off from Cable & Wireless Group in March 2010 and has since issued three profit warnings. However the company’s UK fixed-line network is likely to be its appeal for Vodafone while Tata will be interested in CWW’s 425,000 km of undersea cable. CWW also has a client list that includes 70 FTSE100 businesses