A team from Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. completed its final report on Rakuten Inc.'s merger proposal Monday, and the offer is expected to be formally rejected by management, a senior TBS official said.

The in-house team was set up immediately after the online mall operator's surprise announcement on Oct. 13.

TBS management is expected to draft its final response during a board meeting on Wednesday. TBS President Hiroshi Inoue is likely to meet Rakuten President Hiroshi Mikitani the same day to deliver the answer in person.

While TBS officials said the firm has not reached a final conclusion on the proposal, it seems all but certain that the broadcaster will reject it.

Senior officials have been indicating that a merger would be difficult, and the senior TBS official has said a tieup would be challenging as well. Given its other ongoing joint ventures, TBS cannot agree on a tieup with Rakuten without getting its partners' consent, the official said.

But a report from Kyodo News on Monday said the two were discussing a distribution tieup.

A tieup is considered the most likely alternative to an outright merger, but if TBS rules that out, Rakuten will have to decide whether to take more aggressive measures to get its way.

Rakuten Executive Deputy President Atsushi Kunishige told reporters Friday the firm is preparing to deal with any scenario.