Saxo Bank has completed the acquisition of Dutch lender BinckBank and now owns 95.14 percent of the total issued and outstanding share capital of the online broker. BinckBank will be delisted from the Euronext Amsterdam as soon as possible, they said in a joint statement.
The two companies revealed they already started working on the integration of their technology infrastructure and plan to launch additional products and services to better compete in light of growing competing in the Online Trading and investment sector.
“The investment and trading industry is undergoing a major transformation facing new Regulation , rising expectations for better digital client experience, ongoing margin compression and a great need for multi-asset trading capabilities,” said Kim Fournais, CEO and founder of Saxo Bank.
The merger will help clients and partners benefit from the combined company’s business scale and facilitate the response to multiple challenges in the online trading and investment sector. The combined entity will also make significant-tech investments to enable it to adapt to changing customer behavior, they added.
Saxo said that their similar geographic footprint, products and customer bases meant the merger made sense and would also drive efficiencies.
Saxo Bank and BinckBank
“The acquisition is a win-win for all parties, clients, employees, shareholders and the societies we operate in. By joining forces, we have what it takes to become the leading global provider of state-of-the-art multi-asset trading and investment solutions," added Saxo CEO.
The deal background
Regarding BinckBank’s shareholders who have not tendered their shares during the offer period, they have until August 14 to do so before Saxo closes the acceptance period.
The bid for BinckBank takeover began in December 2018, when Saxo Bank, which is a fully licensed and regulated bank, made the first move.
Denmark-based Saxo Bank proposed to acquire all of BinckBank’s outstanding shares for €6.35 per share. At the time, the bid price represented a premium of 35 percent to BinckBank’s share value, which closed today’s trades at €6.36.
The transaction, which was unanimously recommended by BinckBank’s board, was promoted as to help the two firms scale their operations and better manage business pressures.
The acquisition was waiting for regulatory approvals from the Dutch Central Bank and the European Central Bank. Earlier last month, Saxo Bank secured the approvals of both regulators to proceed with its offer.
Vincent Germyns, CEO of BinckBank commented: ”Thanks to Saxo Bank we can further expand our product range and offer more intuitive platforms in the future. That is how our customers will benefit from Saxo Bank’s leading position in trading and investment technology and services.”
