BSkyB extends takeover offer for Amstrad

British Sky Broadcasting Group extended its offer for computer and electronic hardware manufacturer Amstrad by two weeks as it revealed it had received acceptances for around 85.9% of the company's stock, an Associated Press report said.

The Associated Press report said the deadline for acceptances to BSkyB's 125 million pound ($253 million) cash offer is now September 4.

The government's competition regulator said earlier this month it is investigating whether the deal is anticompetitive, the Associated Press report said.

The Office of Fair Trading will consider whether to refer the case to the Competition Commission for a full investigation, the report said.

BSkyB and Amstrad already have a close relationship, with Amstrad supplying about 30% of the set-top boxes purchased by Sky in the year to June 30, it added.

The set-top boxes are used by viewers with a conventional television to receive digital free-view channels in addition to ones broadcast using the traditional analog signal, the report said.