National Express bidder to seek more time: source

LONDON (Reuters) - The consortium bidding for British bus and rail operator National Express is expected to seek a third extension to the formal offer deadline, said a source with knowledge of the consortium's thinking.

The Spanish-led consortium is expected to ask for more time to formalize the 765 million pound ($1.21 billion) bid, which Britain's Takeover Panel had already delayed by three weeks until October 16 following a request from both parties.

"It doesn't look like they will be in a position to complete all of that process by 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) this Friday," the source told Reuters Monday.

"They hoped that the process would take four to five weeks and it's taking a little bit longer than anticipated ... I don't think it should be taken to indicate that there's any problem or hiccup or difficulty it's just taking a little bit longer than they thought."

Spain's Cosmen family -- the biggest shareholder in National Express with a 17 percent stake -- and private equity partner CVC Capital Partners gained access to the British company's books after improving their offer to 500 pence a share in September from 450 pence.

National Express became a takeover target earlier this year after struggling to lower a debt pile of almost 1 billion pounds and announcing it would walk away from its flagship East Coast UK rail franchise due to mounting losses.

(Reporting by Ben Deighton, editing Paul Hoskins; editing by John Stonestreet)

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