DNB Bank ASA said Tuesday the Norwegian Competition Authority has rejected the bank’s proposed acquisition of Norwegian digital bank Sbanken ASA.
DNB Bank said in April that it had agreed to buy Sbanken for 11.1 billion Norwegian kroner ($1.27 billion). The deal has been approved by the Norwegian Ministry of Finance after a recommendation from the Financial Supervisory Authority, and the only remaining hurdle for completion was the receipt of necessary approvals from Norwegian competition authorities, which have previously raised concerns over possible effects on competition in the market for fund distribution.
In a statement Tuesday, DNB Bank said it has proposed multiple alternative remedies involving several third parties to address the concerns, including, among others, a divesture of most of the company’s fund distribution operations and behavioral remedies following such divestiture. It said these measures would fully address the concerns.
“Despite this, the Norwegian Competition Authority has today announced that the remedies proposed by the offeror have not sufficiently mitigated the NCA’s concerns as set out in the Statement of Objections and has therefore issued a decision rejecting the contemplated acquisition,” DNB Bank said.
DNB Bank said it is now assessing a possible challenge of the decision by filing an appeal to the Norwegian Competition Tribunal. The bank has 15 business days to determine whether to appeal the decision.
Source: Mint