Nationwide Building Society has been given the official go-head from the British regulators to finalise the £2.9 billion acquisition of Virgin Money UK PLC (LSE:VMUK) first announced in March.
Virgin Money approved the acquisition in May.
As part of the merger, Nationwide’s deputy chief finance officer Muir Mathieson will step up as chief finance officer in place of Chris Rhodes, who will move to Virgin Money as chief executive.
Virgin Money shares are expected to be cancelled from the London Stock Exchange on 1 October.
The combination of the two businesses encountered numerous hurdles, including an investigation from the Competition and Markets Authority and a revolt from disgruntled Nationwide members who were not given a vote on the deal.
“The acquisition will not require any immediate changes to the capital structure of the Virgin Money Group or the combined group as a whole,” the two businesses said today in a regulatory statement.