MILAN (Reuters) - Canadian plane and train maker Bombardier (>> Bombardier, Inc.) has pulled out of the race for Finmeccanica's (>> Finmeccanica SpA) rail units AnsaldoBreda and Ansaldo STS (>> Ansaldo STS SpA), three sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

The sources confirmed a report in Italian newspaper Il Messaggero on Wednesday which said that Bombardier had not presented an offer by an end-August deadline set by the heavily indebted Italian defence group.

Bombardier and Finmeccanica declined to comment.

Along with Japanese group Hitachi (>> Hitachi, Ltd.), Bombardier was seen as a frontrunner in the race. The other contenders are France's Thales (>> THALES), Spain's CAF (>> Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarril) and a Chinese duo comprising CNR Corp (>> China CNR Corp Ltd) and Insigma Technology (>> Insigma Technology Co.,LTD), sources have previously said.

In August Finmeccanica CEO Mauro Moretti said the group, which has been trying to sell the units for three years to cut down debt, expected to complete the sale by mid-October.

(Reporting by Danilo Masoni and Sophie Sassard, editing by Silvia Aloisi)