Singapore Exchange Ltd.’s takeover of the main Australian stock market, which received instant disapproval from lawmakers, may gain investor support as ASX gets a 42% premium and owners of the bidder pay no more than the average of comparable deals.
Singapore Exchange Chief Executive Officer Magnus Bocker faced a revolt from his own shareholders on Oct. 25 when he unveiled the US$8.4 billion ($10.9 billion) agreement to acquire ASX at twice the average premium for financial services acquisitions in the past year. The takeover won’t compromise market regulation, Malcolm Starr, ASX’s head of regulatory policy said today in response to a report in the Age newspaper that said the country’s Financial Services Council is concerned the deal may reduce the fairness of listing rules.