The New York Stock Exchange ratcheted up its fight to become the world’s first transatlantic stock-trading center Monday, making a $10.2 billion cash-and-stock bid for European exchange operator Euronext NV – an offer that Euronext called the best on the table.
A combination of NYSE Group Inc. and Euronext would create a $21 billion company called NYSE Euronext with trading in stocks, corporate bonds, futures, options, derivatives and commodities on two continents. The move would extend the reach of each exchange and give the NYSE a dominance also sought by its rival, the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc., although the average investor would probably feel little impact.
“NYSE Euronext will be the world’s most liquid and truly global financial marketplace, offering unparalleled benefits for investors and issuers in the United States, Europe and across the globe,” said NYSE Group chief executive John Thain, who would be CEO of the combined company if approved.
Euronext’s board was receptive to the bid, saying Monday it was the most attractive offer on the table, implicitly better than a competing bid from Deutsche Bourse AG made Friday. Euronext shareholders will meet today in Amsterdam to weigh the offers.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq, which saw the London Stock Exchange rebuff its $4.5 billion bid March 30, has been buying up LSE shares and owns 25.1 percent of the London market. While it waits the six months required under British law to make another bid, the stake gives the Nasdaq some veto power over major changes at the LSE – though not enough to stop a competing acquisition bid.
Such mergers have the potential to create financial powerhouses – the NYSE could become a global market for a variety of investments, and the Nasdaq is poised to become a worldwide, 24/7 trading platform for nearly any stock.
