Vodafone, Tata given until April 19 to bid for C&W Worldwide

Tata Communications Ltd (TCL) and UK-based Vodafone have got extension till April 19 for making the acquisition bid for British firm Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW).

The original deadline for bids was set for today.

"In accordance with Rule 2.6 (c) of the Takeover Code, at the request of the CWW, the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers has consented to an extension of the relevant deadlines until 5.00 pm on 19 April 2012," CWW said in a statement today.

This 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, it added.

There can be no certainty that any offer will be made, nor as to the terms of any offer, CWW said.

Part of the Tata Group, TCL had said it is evaluating a possible cash offer for CWW.

According to reports, the Mumbai-based company has hired Morgan Stanley to work alongside Standard Chartered, its long-term adviser on the deal.

The reports suggest that TCL has amassed a $2 billion (1.26 billion pounds) war chest. 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.

The acquisition would provide TCL, which owns undersea cable assets and offers telecom and Internet services to companies across countries, a larger footprint in voice and data carrier businesses as well as in the undersea cable network.

If Tatas prevails, it would mark the latest in a series of British acquisitions by the Indian giant, which already owns Jaguar Land Rover and Corus, the steel-maker.