Jyske Bank slumps after rival's apparent exit from race to buy Handelsbanken's Danish biz

Spar Nord Bank A/S

10/06/2022 11:22

** Shares in Denmark's Jyske Bank  JYSK.CO  tumble 8% after
Spar Nord's  SPNO.CO  dividend announcement that might imply its
exit from the race to buy the Danish operations of Handelsbanken
 SHBa.ST 
    ** Spar Nord said on Friday it was paying out the remaining
dividend for 2021, which Nordnet analyst Per Hansen says was
withheld and "reserved" for the acquisition  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2XX1RC
    ** Hansen notes this could be seen as Spar Nord exiting the
competition, leaving Nykredit and Jyske Bank to fight for the
acquisition
    ** He says the share move could indicate Jyske Bank is very
interested and willing to bid a high price
    ** The group is likely to stop its buyback programme and
issue new shares if it goes ahead with the acquisition, putting
extra pressure on the shares, Hansen adds
    ** Last October, Sweden's Handelsbanken said it would exit
Denmark and Finland, as it saw little chance to grow without
making major investments in those markets  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RF1S1
    ** The Jyske stock is on track for its worst day since March
2020
    ** Spar Nord shares are down 0.5%



 (Reporting by Louise Rasmussen and Jagoda Darlak)
 ((louise.rasmussen@tr.com))