PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Clearance and settlement group Euroclear said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the four primary owners of Nordic Central Securities Depository to acquire the Nordic business.
The four primary owners are Nordea Bank AB, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB), Svenska Handelsbanken and Swedbank AB, between them holding more than 99 percent of NCSD's shares, Euroclear said.
The value of the deal was not disclosed.
NCSD, which comprises the Finnish and Swedish CSDs, Suomen Arvopaperikeskus Oy (APK) and VPC AB (VPC), is expected to merge with the Euroclear group in the fourth quarter 2008, subject to regulatory approval and final agreement.
Based on year-end 2007 data, the combined group would settle the equivalent of more than 575 trillion euros in securities transactions, representing 198 million domestic and cross-border transactions, and would hold more than 20 trillion euros in assets for clients, Euroclear said. Andrew Newby; Andrew.Newby@thomsonreuters.com an/slm COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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