The completed deal would come about a month after the two companies announced a nonbinding agreement to join their two music units in a 50-50 venture.

The nonbinding agreement was structured as a joint venture to open up to 30 Fazoli's in three U.S. markets.

Several Maxwell creditors also said that because of the nonbinding agreement, they viewed the offer as a bidding floor that left room for other offers.

The two presidents are also to sign a nonbinding agreement setting out a new framework for bilateral relations.

But as Millennium discovered, any nonbinding agreements or letters of intent can prove ephemeral the longer the process drags on.

The company signed a nonbinding agreement with the state and city in June and has been negotiating the terms of a contract since then.

The report was expected to ease final negotiations with General Motors, which has signed a nonbinding agreement to take over Daewoo for $400 million.

The eight polar countries adopted an Arctic Environment Protection Strategy in 1991, but it was a nonbinding agreement lacking enforcement provisions.

The nonbinding agreement calls for Centrust and Ensign Bank to begin talks to reorganize under a new holding company.

But they acknowledge that the new effort, a nonbinding agreement sponsored by the United Nations, could take many years before having much effect on overfishing.