The European Commission has extended its deadline for reviewing Kraft Foods’ proposal to acquire Cadbury after the US group offered concessions to ease antitrust concerns.

The Commission, which had previously been scheduled to make a ruling on the takeover plan by 14 December, today (9 December) extended its deadline until 6 January – by when it must either approve the potential merger or launch an investigation to examine competition issues more closely.

European regulators said that Kraft has put forward possible changes to its proposals, but a spokesperson declined to comment further, insisting that discussions with the company were confidential.

Kraft Foods was not immediately available for comment. The US food giant sent details of its takeover bid directly to Cadbury shareholders on Friday (4 December).

Cadbury will formally respond to Kraft’s hostile takeover bid when the Dairy Milk maker delivers its pre-close trading update next Monday (14 December).

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