European Commission gives SCOR deal green light

PARIS—The European Commission has given its approval to the potential merger of SCOR S.A. and Converium Holding Ltd., the French reinsurer said.

The Commission had examined the competition implications of the proposed takeover of Converium by its Paris-based rival.

In addition, SCOR said the Swiss takeover board had extended the "cooling-off period" for shareholders by 10 days, to take into account the uncertainty of the impact of a complaint filed by Converium against SCOR in the United States.

The offer period for all publicly-held registered shares in Converium will now run from May 8 until June 6.

Converium last week announced that it had filed a complaint against SCOR and a large shareholder in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Converium alleges that SCOR violated securities law and failed to comply with certain disclosure requirements.,

In a statement Monday, SCOR reiterated its belief that it had complied with all relevant legal and regulatory requirements when making its bid for Zug, Switzerland-based Converium.