SGX, ASX overcome first regulatory hurdle
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission has given its blessing for a merge between the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), bringing the regional bourses a step closer to closing the A$8.4 billion ($8.3 billion) deal.
While the Commission's decision - prompted as the merge didn't appear to diminish competition - is viewed as one regulatory hurdle surmounted, the bourses are still a ways off before the deal is fully approved. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the proposal must now be assessed by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board, which will determine if the merge is in Australia's overall benefit. The deal would need further government and shareholder approval before being signed off.
In October, the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) and Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) officially agreed to Asia Pacific's first-ever merger of stock exchanges, with a friendly takeover offer from SGX that valued ASX at a 37% premium on its latest closing share price for every share taken up, and pay the rest in cash. The merger, if approved, would create the world's fifth-largest exchange by market cap at $1.9 trillion, and Asia's second-largest behind HKEX.
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