NEX’s acquisition by CME receives DOJ’s approval
The proposed deal has received clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act from the United States Department of Justice – Antitrust Division.
There is an update on the proposed acquisition of NEX Group PLC (LON:NXG) by CME Group Inc (NASDAQ:CME) and Bidco…
In a filing with the London Stock Exchange, the boards of CME and NEX announce that they have received approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act from the United States Department of Justice – Antitrust Division for the proposed deal.
Furthermore, CME and NEX say that they have received the relevant regulatory approvals from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and regulators in the United States, Germany, Italy and Sweden, and have made the requisite pre-notifications in Hong Kong.
Completion of the proposed deal remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the remaining Conditions, including competition clearance being received from the UK Competition and Markets Authority and the sanctioning of the Scheme by the Court.
CME and NEX still expect the Scheme to become effective by year end 2018. This is in line with a statement made by NEX in July when the company said the acquisition remained on track. “As previously outlined, the transaction with CME remains on track to complete in the second half of the current calendar year”, Michael Spencer, Group Chief Executive Officer of NEX said back then.
Let’s recall that, as per the agreement, CME will pay 500 pence in cash and 0.0444 new CME shares for each NEX share, thus putting the value of each share of NEX at 1,000 pence. NEX’s entire issued and to be issued share capital is thus valued at approximately £3.9 billion. The bid represents a premium of approximately 49.2% to the Closing Price per NEX Share of 670.5 pence on 15 March 2018 (being the date the Offer Period commenced).
In addition, NEX Shareholders will be entitled to receive a final dividend for NEX in respect of the year ending March 31, 2018, such dividend not to exceed an amount of 7.65 pence per NEX Share.
On top of expected cost synergies, CME sees the deal as offering compelling revenue growth opportunities. CME will be able to market its existing product offering to NEX’s attractive customer base whilst CME will also benefit from the opportunity to cross sell NEX products.
