C&W Worldwide shares dive as Tata pulls out of bid war

Shares in Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) have plunged after Tata Communications said it would not be making a bid.

Shares in CWW were 8% lower at close on Thursday in the wake of Tata's announcement.

The shares had enjoyed steep rises at the prospect of a bidding war.

Meanwhile, CWW said it was to give more time to Vodafone, the only remaining possible bidder, to decide whether it wanted to make an offer for the firm.

It came just prior to a 1600 GMT deadline for Vodafone to submit a bid - it now has until 1200 on 23 April to decide.

"CWW confirms that advanced discussions with Vodafone are on-going with a view to establishing whether or not they might result in a formal offer for the company which the board of Cable & Wireless Worldwide would be willing to recommend," CWW said in a statement.

Such a deal could give Vodafone fixed lines and relieve pressure on its wireless network.

Tata said it had not been able to agree a price with CWW.

CWW specialises in networking and broadband for corporate clients, including Tesco and the UK police service.

It split from Cable & Wireless's Caribbean-based telecoms arm in 2010.

Its chief executive said earlier this year that the company needed a new direction.

Gavin Darby said last month that the firm was over-complex and lacked investment.