French insurance provider Axa has been given the green light by German authorities to initiate a bid process to acquire the minority share it does not own in its German subsidiary AXA Konzern.
Following approval from German regulator BaFin, Axa has launched a E129.3 per share bid for the outstanding 7.24% of AXA Konzern. The offer period started on January 9 and will run until February 27.
According to the French insurer, if its ownership in AXA Konzern reaches 95% at the end of the offer period, it will consider a delisting of the German company through a squeeze-out procedure, bringing its holding to 100%.
Should the 95% threshold not be reached, Axa has the option to withdraw its offer.
The squeeze-out offer price will be set using the IDW standard, which is set by the CPA Institute in Germany and independently verified, Axa said in its statement. Shareholders who tender their shares to Axa will benefit from the squeeze-out price validated by the independent expert if this price exceeds
E129.3 per share.