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UK: CME gets antitrust clearance for $5.5b NEX buy

By  |  October 31, 2018

Britain’s competition watchdog cleared CME Group’s £3.9 billion (US$4.96 billion) deal to buy Michael Spencer’s NEX Group, paving the way for a cross-border trading powerhouse, reported the Financial Times.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) approval of the £3.9 billion (US$4.96 billion) acquisition was the last significant hurdle for CME and NEX to overcome after receiving the go-ahead from the US Department of Justice earlier this month. CME and NEX announced the news in separate statements on Wednesday, October 31.

CME announced the pair now expect the deal to close by Friday, November 2. The companies had already received approvals from the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, and regulators in the US, Germany, Italy, and Sweden.

The UK CMA’s investigation began in mid-September. The authority had until November 8 to decide whether the deal could damage competition in the market. The deal was not referred for a more rigorous second-phase investigation.

Full Content: Reuters

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