THE battle for Britain's largest regional brewer, Wolverhampton & Dudley, has hotted up after the group extended its deadline for offers by two weeks.
The group, which has four breweries, including the Camerons Lion Brewery in Hartlepool, and 1,700 pubs, said it had extended the deadline for receipt of formal offers from April 5 to noon on April 20.
This was "as a result of the recent increased interest expressed", the group said.
Any formal offers received before the deadline would be given "appropriate consideration by the independent directors", but there was no certainty a satisfactory formal offer would be received.
Interest in the group so far is understood to have come from Robert Breare's Noble House Pub company, Hartlepool tenanted pub chain Pubmaster and the company's management.
The Castle Eden Brewery, near Hartlepool, is also thought to be interested in a move to the Camerons Brewery and has held preliminary discussions with Easington District Council about a change of use for its existing site, off the A19
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article