|
Stockholm: Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) has said it would investigate to see if OMX used inappropriate defence measures after Borse Dubai launched a bid for the exchange owner.
A spokeswoman for the regulator confirmed a report in Swedish daily Dagens Industri that said the investigation was prompted by media reports. "Yes, that's correct," said spokeswoman Helena Ostman regarding the report.
She declined to comment on what media reports prompted the investigation or provide any other details on its scope. "It's an urgent matter. Hopefully, we will have something to say by the end of the week," the spokeswoman said.
Response
Jonas Rodny, a spokesman for OMX, said the firm had received a letter from the regulator. "They usually send these kinds of letters in connection with a takeover," he said. "We are preparing the answers at the moment, and we will send them this week to them."
Rodny said this was "nothing dramatic", and he declined to go into detail on the questions asked by the regulator. Asked which media reports might have prompted the questions, he also declined to comment.
Last week, OMX management had complained to the Swedish Bar Association about a Borse Dubai legal adviser working on the takeover attempt because he had recently left OMX.
Typically, issues regarding takeover bids would be handled by a company's board of directors rather than corporate executives, but OMX said at the time that this was a matter for management, not for the board, as it related to company security.
Borse Dubai has offered 230 Swedish crowns in cash for OMX. Its $4 billion offer topped an agreed cash-and-shares bid from US exchange Nasdaq.
|
