Under the MOU entered into by the Regulators with a view to ensuring a co-ordinated approach to the exercise of their respective powers and responsibilities, the execution of this Combination Agreement will require prior approval of the Euronext Regulators Chairs’ Committee. In their assessment, the Chairs Committee will carefully consider the regulatory impact of such merger, should it be completed after shareholders approvals, in the context of each Euronext domestic market as well as in the context of Euronext as a group. The Chairs’ Committee will also consider the broader market issues from a regulatory perspective, including the potential impact on other stakeholders active on Euronext markets.
The Task Force has already undertaken work on this assessment and begun discussions with SEC staff to address issues of common interest.
Notwithstanding the MoU process, the contemplated merger will also have to comply with any other domestic authorization or assessment procedure, where applicable. It is anticipated that the work of the Task force could usefully contribute to those domestic procedures.
In accordance with current practice, it can be expected that the local approval processes and the MoU process will run in parallel in order to avoid unnecessary delays.
The Euronext Regulators Chairs’ Committee will engage in a similar process with respect to any other envisaged exchange merger involving Euronext NV.
