Norway’s largest bank DNB should not be allowed to buy online rival Sbanken as the deal could hurt customers in the mutual fund market, the Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) said in a preliminary ruling on Thursday.
More than 90% of Sbanken’s shareholders have accepted DNB’s offer of 11.6 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.3 billion).
Norway’s bank regulator and the finance ministry have both given their blessings to the deal, leaving the NCA as the final hurdle.
The NCA warned on June 24 that it might block the transaction, primarily due to worries over the potential impact on competition in the market for mutual funds.
“The authority … is still concerned that DNB’s acquisition of Sbanken may lead to weakened competition and poorer conditions for bank customers who request mutual fund savings,” the regulator said.
While the size of each bank’s market share was business-sensitive information, and thus kept confidential by the NCA, it was clear that a combined entity would have become “clearly the largest provider” of mutual funds, the regulator said.
“The market is growing strongly, but DNB and Sbanken represent a very significant part of that growth,” NCA department head Gjermund Nese told Reuters.
“Their combined size, their rate of growth, the fact that they are such close competitors, and Sbanken’s role as a challenger to the established banks, are the four main reasons behind our conclusions so far,” he said.
Shares in Sbanken were down 0.9% by 0841 GMT while DNB fell by 0.3%, lagging the Oslo benchmark stock index which was unchanged for the day.
The two banks have until Sept. 16 to respond and the NCA will make its final ruling by Oct. 7, the regulator said.
DNB said it still hoped to convince the regulator to change its mind, arguing that Norway’s fast-growing market for mutual funds continued to see an influx of new players.
“(DNB) will continue to cooperate closely with the NCA and provide all relevant information in order for the NCA to close its investigation as quickly as possible,” the bank said.
A takeover of the online-only Sbanken would also boost DNB’s share of the Norwegian mortgage market to an estimated 27% from about 24%, the banks have said.
“The mortgage part of the transaction is not a concern for us, it’s the funds part that is relevant,” Nese said.
DNB in April offered to pay 103.85 Norwegian crowns per share for Sbanken and later raised the all-cash bid to 108.85 crowns, securing support from the vast majority of owners as well as the boards of both companies.
DNB was advised by in-house broker DNB Markets while Sbanken was advised by Arctic Securities.
Source: Reuters.com