Benzinga | Jan 6, 2022 04:31PM EST

ADTRAN Stockholders Approve Business Combination With ADVA Optical Networking SE

ADTRAN, Inc., (NASDAQ:ADTN) today announced that its stockholders have approved the business combination with ADVA Optical Networking SE by an overwhelming majority. In a Special Meeting of Stockholders held earlier today, a quorum was achieved with 85% of ADTRAN's outstanding shares represented. Of the voted shares, over 99% were voted in favor of the transaction.

Today's announcement is the latest milestone towards a successful closing. The transaction has already been approved unanimously by the ADTRAN Board of Directors, approved by the ADVA Management and Supervisory Boards, who also have recommended to ADVA shareholders to accept the offer. The transaction has also received the strong support of ADVA's largest shareholder, Egora, which entered into an irrevocable commitment to tender into the offer shares representing 13.7% of ADVA's outstanding shares, and received clearance or confirmation that public review was not needed by all required antitrust organizations.

The next major milestone will be the close of the initial acceptance period for the tender of ADVA shares at midnight (CET) on January 12, 2022, and for the combination to be successful, at least 70% of the ADVA shares must be tendered by this time. The parties also continue to work with the relevant authorities to obtain the required foreign direct investment approvals and are confident that such approvals will be obtained in due course.