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Dubai: Stock exchange firm Borse Dubai yesterday extended the acceptance period for its $4.9 billion bid for OMX to February 29 and said it would control 97.6 per cent of shares in the Nordic and Baltic exchange operator after exercising options.
It said the acceptance period is being extended to "make it possible for the shareholders who have not yet accepted the offer to tender their shares in OMX."
Borse Dubai said the takeover offer has been accepted by shareholders holding 82,721,185 shares in OMX, representing 68.6 per cent of the total number of shares and votes in OMX.
Prior to the offer last year, Borse Dubai acquired 5,880,130 shares in OMX, representing 4.9 per cent of the total number of shares. Additionally, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Borse Dubai entered into options to purchase 29,171,741 shares in OMX, representing approximately 24.2 per cent of shares.
"Following settlement of the options, Borse Dubai is expected to hold in aggregate 117,773,056 shares in OMX, representing approximately 97.6 per cent of the total number of shares and votes in OMX," the company said in a statement.
Nasdaq president and chief executive officer Bob Greifeld said in a statement Borse Dubai's successful tender for OMX shares "is the final milestone of the transaction" and paves the way for his company "to create the world's largest exchange company that will set the standard for global electronic trading and public company services, and provide the premier infrastructure for financial markets around the world."
A spokesman for Finans-inspektionen, the Swedish financial supervisory authority, told Gulf News the Swedish government had yesterday sold its entire OMX stake of 7.99 million shares, representing 6.6 per cent of shares.
On Wednesday, Qatar Holding, an investment arm of the Qatari government that had built up a stake in OMX with the intention of a takeover, announced that it had sold its entire stake of 12,043,406 shares.
Once the transactions with Nasdaq are finalised, Borse Dubai said it will sell all shares in OMX held by it to Nasdaq in consideration for Nasdaq shares and cash.
"We are very pleased to be the first global exchange to bridge the US, Europe and the Middle East and to further develop and link mature and emerging markets through our new combination," said Eisa Kazim, chairman of Borse Dubai.
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