The European Commission said on Wednesday it had extended its review of U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill's planned purchase of a unit of Italy's agro-energy conglomerate Montedison .
The Commission's new deadline for completing its review is January 21, pushed back from January 10, an EU Commission list showed.
The Commission, the European Union's competition watchdog, can extend a merger review by two weeks if companies submit undertakings to address competition concerns or if it receives a request for referral to an EU national government.
The Commission declined comment on the reason for the extension. However, Britain asked the European Commission in December to allow it to study the impact of the deal because of concerns over its effect on competition in the British glucose syrup market.
Montedison announced in October it was selling 56 percent in starch maker Cerestar to privately owned Cargill for 474 million euros ($429.7 million).