Euronext, the pan-European exchange, has received the clearance from the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority to acquire up to 100 percent of VP Securities.
The Danish regulator gave Euronext the all clear on 15 July to acquire VP Securities, only the Danish central securities depository (CSD), for an undisclosed sum.
The regulatory approval by the Danish FSA was the only condition to complete the transaction, which began in April.
According to a statement, the exchange has already secured strong support from existing shareholders of VP Securities, with shareholders representing 90.68 percent of the total shares having already accepted the exchange’s offer.
The tag-along offer from the European exchange to acquire the remaining shares in the CSD will remain open until the 31 August.
Minority shareholders of VP Securities who have already accepted Euronext’s offer will receive settlement on or around the 3 August.
Any other shareholders and shareholders with specific rights, accepting Euronext’s offer before the 31 August deadline will receive payment on or around 10 September.
Following such settlements, Euronext intends to initiate a compulsory acquisition procedure to acquire the remaining shares not already tendered in accordance with the rules of the Danish Companies Act.
The acquisition is aimed at expanding Euronext’s Nordic presence and double its CSD business through the acquisition of a majority stake in Danish CSD, VP Securities.
The European stock exchange says the deal also serves to significantly bolster its post-trade services offering and further diversify its revenue stream to become less reliant on volume-related revenue.
