Nykredit Aims to Take Over and Delist Spar Nord Bank
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Danish lender Nykredit said on Wednesday it has secured a stake of more than 80% in Spar Nord Bank following a $3.6 billion bid for its domestic rival last year, and aims to complete a takeover and a delisting of the bank's stock.
The offer period to Spar Nord shareholders has been extended to April 3, Nykredit said in a statement.
The CEO of Nykredit, Michael Rasmussen, said it intended to combine Spar Nord with its subsidiary Nykredit Bank and plans to form Denmark's third-largest bank.
"It will not be relevant to speculate on whether Nykredit will increase its tender offer at a later point," Rasmussen said in a statement.
"At the latest following the combination we will delist Spar Nord Bank from Nasdaq Copenhagen and carry out a compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares," he said.
The two companies first announced the 24.7 billion Danish crowns ($3.61 billion) agreed offer in a joint statement in December.
($1 = 6.8396 Danish crowns)
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik and Stine Jacobsen, editing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen)
