[ M A R K E T
R E V I E W
|
M E R G E R S
&
A C Q U I S I T I O N S ]
Most dramatic deal:
Euronext & Oslo Børs
W
hile the HKEX-LSEG offer could have taken
the title for most dramatic deal this year given
the scale of the institutions involved, this award goes
to a deal that actually closed. At times it was hard to
keep track of who was out-bidding who in this, the
most protracted acquisition tussle of the year, as two
exchange groups duked it out over a target with only
a fraction of their combined daily trading volumes.
In a series of offers, counter-offers and very
attention-seeking press releases, Oslo Børs eventually
wound up under the ownership of Euronext in May,
having courted both the pan-European exchange
group and its US-based counterpart Nasdaq since the
end of 2018 – somewhat reminiscent of last year’s
winner in this category, the acquisition of Fidessa by
ION International.
Euronext made the first move in this tussle when
it increased its existing stake in the Norwegian
exchange from 49.6% to 60%, a precursor to a
full acquisition bid from Euronext, valued at
NOK 6.24 billion (¤625m). For their part, Oslo Børs
saw a good opportunity to attract a higher offer
from elsewhere and invited interested parties to
step forward to “find the optimal solution in the
best interests both of shareholder value and of the
functions of the group’s stock exchange and central
securities depository activities in the Norwegian
securities market.” While Euronext aimed to increase
its footprint in Europe by adding Norway as one
of its hubs, Nasdaq sought instead to consolidate
its already significant presence in the country by
outbidding its rival with a £770 million offer.
Four months of back-and-forth ensued, with
Nasdaq blinking first and allowing Euronext to
complete the acquisition in mid-July. The two
organisations, alongside London Stock Exchange,
now represent the three main trading venue
operators in the Scandinavian region and Euronext
will have been well pleased to secure one of the few
remaining independent exchanges in Europe and
expanding its own infrastructure and capabilities
at a time when scale is an important feature of any
trading venue operator.
74 // TheTrade // Fall 2019