Visa Inc is expected to seal its takeover of Visa Europe by the end of the month, after getting full regulatory approval from the European Commission.
In April, Visa Inc tweaked the terms of the acquisition following preliminary feedback from the European Commission, scrapping a planned earn-out in exchange for an extra EUR1.75 billion in cash.
Under the original terms, Visa Inc was set to pay an upfront consideration of EUR16.5 billion in cash and stock with the potential for an additional earn-out of up to EUR4.7 billion payable following the fourth anniversary of closing.
Visa expects to realise around $200 million in annual pre-tax cost synergies through the deal by 2020, representing about 30% of Visa Europe's operating expenses.