Market Basket's board of directors has cancelled a meeting that was planned at 10 p.m. Sunday.
The Boston Globe had reported that the embattled supermarket chain's board would meet following a weekend of weighing ousted CEO Arthur T. Demoulas' offer to buy the remaining shares of the company.
Market Basket tells NECN that the meeting will instead take place when the shareholders have reached an agreement.
Even if the board were to agree to sell the company, the rest of the shareholders would need to vote to approve a transaction.
Friday, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan said there was optimism on all sides that a deal would be reached over the weekend.
The last-minute cancellation of the meeting indicates that a deal may not be as close as they indicated.
Employees and customers have rallied in support of Arthur T. Demoulas for more than five weeks. The Globe reports that his offer for the 50.5 percent of shares is worth $1.5 billion.
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Since he was fired in June by a board controlled by his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas, shelves and stores have been empty amid employee protests and a customer boycott of the chain.
As of Sunday night, part-time employees at the 71 stores are looking at another week without hours.
