Bids for the drinks business were supposed to be in next week

Earlier in the week, banks involved in the buyout of Chrysler also had trouble selling on some of the debt involved.

The deadline for bids for the US drinks business was thought to be next week.

Cadbury Schweppes said it hoped the delay would "allow bidders to complete their proposals against a more stable debt financing market".

Speculation about bids for companies made by private equity firms has been the driving force behind recent gains on global stock markets.

Private equity buyouts involve borrowing large amounts of money and the problems with Chrysler debt suggest that banks are becoming wary about lending the necessary cash.

New Look

The perception that there might now be less merger activity was one of the factors which has triggered the global share sell-off of the past few days.

Other private equity debt issues are reported to be having difficulties.

Apax Partners and Permira have scrapped their plans to refinance the High Street fashion retailer New Look, according to the Daily Telegraph.

It reported that New Look's owners had been planning to refinance the debt so that they could pay themselves a fresh dividend, but have now decided to wait until debt markets settle down.