Bid for Bari collapses

American property tycoon Timothy Barton's bid to buy Bari collapsed yesterday when the Serie A club's owners refused a request for a delay.

Barton's JMJ Holdings had until Wednesday to make an initial payment under the terms of a preliminary agreement but instead asked for more time to conclude due diligence.

"(We) announce that today JMJ Holdings has been told that talks over the sale of the majority stake in AS Bari have been suspended," club owners, the Matarrese family, said in a statement.

The two parties held a meeting in Milan on Tuesday but the situation remained deadlocked.

Only last week, Barton told Reuters how much he was looking forward to owning Bari and said the purchase would underline a long-term commitment to doing business in southern Italy.