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Dubai: Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen) yesterday sought further clarifications from Borse Dubai on its acquisition of shares in OMX.
The supplementary questions, the Swedish FSA said in its website yesterday, forms part of its investigations whether Borse Dubai's purchase of shares constituted a public takeover bid. The new set of questions concerning the options contracts are published on the regulator's website.
Replying to an earlier set of questions Borse Dubai had clarified to the Swedish regulator late on Tuesday that the book building process through which it acquired 4.9 per cent stake in OMX with options for a further 22.5 per cent does not constitute a public takeover offer under the Swedish Takeover Act or Swedish Takeover Rules.
The new set of five questions focus on the details of options contracts the Dubai firm signed with 21 hedge funds. As part of the new questions, the regulator has also demanded a copy of one of the option contracts as well as details of how and when Borse Dubai contacted the hedge funds and the nature of trading that followed.
In its detailed answer to an earlier questionnaire from the Swedish FSA, Borse Dubai had clarified that its purpose of buying shares in OMX was to acquire a large stake to pursue discussions with the board of OMX and with the company's large shareholders regarding future cooperation.
Currently hedge funds have close to 25 per cent stake in OMX, which is widely seen as an advantage for the Dubai firm in the event of a bidding war with Nasdaq. While the American exchange's offer is priced at 208 Swedish crowns, Dubai bought OMX shares at 230 crowns.
Analysts see the latest move by the Swedish regulator as an attempt to establish the legality Borse Dubai's acquisition of OMX shares and if it constituted a public offer. The Dubai firm is expected to file the answers by next Monday.
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