Euronext shareholders unanimously approve Oslo Bors takeover
The shareholders of pan-European exchange Euronext unanimously voted in favour of its acquisition of Norway’s Oslo Bors exchange at the group’s annual general meeting in Amsterdam today.
Read more: Norway all but hands victory to Euronext in Oslo Bors battle
Euronext said in a statement: “Shareholders’ approval was the last major condition to complete the transaction, since most of the other condition precedents highlighted in Euronext’s offer document were already met”.
The exchange hopes the transaction can be completed before the end of the second quarter of the 2019 financial year.
Euronext has been locked in a five-month tug of war with US exchange Nasdaq for Oslo Bors.
Shareholder approval means it now looks all but certain to win the battle, after the Norwegian government approved the purchase on Monday.
Nasdaq, which has support from 37 per cent of Oslo Bors shareholders, had hoped regulators would say a two-thirds majority of shares was needed to secure a deal.
Yet the finance ministry said there were no restrictions, handing the advantage to Euronext which has greater support among Oslo Bors shareholders.
Euronext’s shareholders voted in favour of the exchange’s acquisition of up to 100 per cent of Oslo Bors’s capital today, which the pan-European exchange say are worth 6.79bn Norwegian kroner (£610m) or €679m.
Shares in Euronext rose 2.5 per cent today to €62.7. They have climbed 4.1 per cent since trading opened on Monday, the day the Norwegian regulators approved the deal.
Stephane Boujnah, chief executive of Euronext, told reporters yesterday that the takeover was “at the very heart of our ambition to make Euronext the backbone of Europe's unified capital markets”.
He said: “The transaction is to be financed through existing cash and debt facilities and still leaves room for further acquisitions.”
“Our aim for Oslo Bors VPS is to make what is today a strong company even stronger,” he said.
Read more: Euronext profit falls in first quarter as acquisitions make a dent
Boujnah said he expects the deal to be completed by June, saying it will strengthen “the leadership of Oslo and the Norwegian market in key markets such as shipping, oil and gas, and sea food”.