LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) - Britain's Takeover Panel hasgranted Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse aneight week extension to their negotiations for a possiblemerger.
The retailers did have a deadline of 1700 GMT on Monday toconfirm whether they intended to press ahead with a deal. However, the Takeover Panel said the deadline had now beenextended to May 19.
Dixons and Carphone announced they were in merger talks onFeb. 24.
A combination of Dixons, Europe's No. 2 electricalsretailer, and Carphone, Europe's largest independentmobile-phone retailer, would create a group with about 2,900stores across the continent which would probably find a place inBritain's FTSE 100 index of leading companies.
"Since the announcement of Feb. 24 was made when discussionswere at a very preliminary stage, both parties have agreed thatthey require more time to evaluate a potential merger of the twobusinesses," the two companies said on Monday. (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton)