The Commission, which handles competition cases for the European Union, said on Thursday it had extended the deadline at the request of the parties.

EU antitrust regulators opened an in-depth investigation into state-owned ChemChina's $43 billion (34.49 billion pounds) bid in October, saying the companies had not allayed concerns over the deal.

(Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek)