WASHINGTON (AP) -- Beer maker Anheuser-Busch InBev says there has been substantial progress toward a resolution of the U.S. Justice Department's legal challenge to the company's $20.1 billion deal to buy Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo.
The companies and the government have asked a federal court to extend a halt to legal activity in the case from March 19 to April 9, giving the two sides more time to talk.
AB InBev wants to buy the remaining stake in Grupo Modelo it does not already own.
In January, the Justice Department sued to block the combination, saying having one company controlling nearly half of all U.S. beer sales would stifle competition. The companies later revised terms of the acquisition, giving more control of Modelo's U.S. beer brands to a wine company, Constellation Brands Inc.
