The Cyprus Trading Corporation Plc (CTC) on Monday announced that the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has approved the public offer document for its proposed acquisition of Ermes Department Stores PLC (ERMES).

The approval, officially granted on May 15, 2026, allows the company to proceed with the publication of the document under the provisions of the public takeover bids law of 2007 to 2022.

The move follows an earlier announcement dated April 2, 2026, in which CTC confirmed it would launch a mandatory public takeover bid to acquire up to 100 per cent of the issued share capital of Ermes.

CTC currently holds 134,740,047 shares, representing 77.215 per cent of the company’s total issued share capital and voting rights.

When combined with parties deemed to be acting in concert, the group controls 135,766,176 shares, corresponding to 77.803 per cent of the issued share capital.

Under the law, the public offer is considered successful regardless of the acceptance level and is unconditional.

As a result, CTC is obliged to acquire all shares tendered under the terms of the offer, provided no withdrawal or cancellation circumstances arise under the relevant article of the law.

The consideration offered to Ermes shareholders who accept the bid is set at €0.014 per share, payable in cash.

The acceptance period for the public offer will begin on May 25, 2026 and will run until July 13, 2026 at 14:30.

The company stated that the public offer document contains full details of the proposal, including the offered consideration and a detailed explanation of the acceptance procedure.

Relevant documents, including the acceptance and transfer form, the withdrawal form, and the investor instruction form, will be mailed to shareholders holding at least 10,000 shares.

From May 25, 2026, the documents will also be available free of charge in electronic format through the website of the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) and the website of the offer adviser, the Cyprus Investment and Securities Corporation Limited (CISCO).