CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) has announced that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (HSR), in connection with its proposed acquisition of Bats Global Markets, Inc. (Bats: BATS).
The end of the HSR waiting period allows the proposed acquisition to continue to move forward toward closing.
The transaction remains subject to other customary closing conditions, including the approval of the stockholders of both companies, and receipt of other required regulatory clearances and approvals.
On September 26, 2016, CBOE Holdings and Bats announced that they had entered into a definitive agreement under which CBOE Holdings agreed to acquire Bats in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $32.50 per Bats share, or a total of approximately $3.2 billion, consisting of 31% cash and 69% CBOE Holdings stock, based on CBOE Holdings’ closing stock price of $70.30 per share on September 23, 2016.