Clearstream and Deutsche Borse announced today that the Office of Fair Trading, the UK merger control authority, had on Friday (31 May) cleared the acquisition of Clearstream International by Deutsche Brse. Together with the approval from the German merger control authorities (Bundeskartellamt) and the Luxembourg regulator (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier), Deutsche Brse has now obtained all regulatory clearances required for the acquisition.
By Mid-April of this year Deutsche Brse’s offer had been accepted by the required two-thirds majority of Cedel shareholders. Now, the remaining Cedel shareholders have accepted the offer. On March 5, 2002 Deutsche Brse had submitted a private tender offer to the shareholders of Cedel International for the acquisition of Cedel including Cedel’s 50 percent ownership in Clearstream. The offer values Cedel’s 50 percent stake in the settlement house Clearstream at 1.6 billion euro and Cedel’s remaining assets at 0.14 billion euro.
Prior to completing the transaction, several formal steps will be taken, including an extraordinary general meeting which Cedel is presently planning to convene for June 24, 2002. Completion itself, at which Cedel shareholders will receive the consideration for their Cedel shares, is expected within the first half of July.