The General Assemblies of the Athens Stock Exchange SA and the Athens Derivatives Exchange SA approved today the Draft Merger Agreement of the two companies and the modifications in the Articles of Association of ASE.

The corporate name of the new company will be Athens Exchange SA.

The merger will be concluded upon approval by the competent authority namely, the Ministry of Development.

The merger of the two exchanges was approved by the respective General Assemblies within the framework of further rationalization of the parent company Hellenic Exchanges SA (HELEX) that owns directly and indirectly 100% of the stocks in both companies. In addition, the merger of ASE and ADEX is in line with the global trend for mergers between stock and derivatives exchanges and is aiming to achieve synergies in the activities of the two companies, to lower the operational costs and to improve the overall coordination of the two markets.

The purpose of the new company will be the organization, support and monitoring of transactions related to stocks, derivatives and other financial products, the smooth operation of the market, the protection of investors and other related activities.

The qualified personnel of the new company will continue to offer the same high level of services regarding market support as in the past.