MUMBAI, INDIA: Talks between India's Reliance Communications and South Africa's MTN Group, which are due to end on Tuesday, may be extended by three or four weeks, the Business Standard newspaper said on Tuesday.

India's No. 2 mobile carrier has offered sub-Saharan Africa's top mobile operator a deal by which Chairman Anil Ambani will take 51 percent in the South African firm through a cash and share swap, the paper said, a structure that has been referred to earlier by local papers and sources with knowledge of the talks.

"The deal requires more scrutiny by MTN, as a result of which the July 8 deadline for the 45-day exclusivity pact might be extended by three or four weeks," the paper said, citing sources close to the negotiations.

A deal looked unlikely on Tuesday as a dispute between Reliance Communications and Reliance Industries remained unresolved.