NYSE Euronext, Deutsche Boerse agree to cancel merger deal

PanARMENIAN.Net - NYSE Euronext officially agreed with Deutsche Boerse AG to terminate their proposed merger. Both the companies had begun talks to cancel the deal after the European Commission notified Deutsche Boerse of its decision to block the deal citing monopoly concerns, NASDAQ.com reported.

The news was expected as reports last month portended a merger collapse as European regulators warned of the European derivative markets being monopolized - the markets of both exchanges together are estimated to make up more than 90 percent of all exchange trading.

The merger was agreed upon in February last year, hoping to create the world's biggest stock and derivatives exchange. Each NYSE Euronext share were to be converted into 0.47 of a share of the new entity.

While the US Department of Justice gave clearance, the deal ran into rough weather after European Union officials in October objected. Both companies in December submitted revised remedies to address the Commission's concerns. A final decision by the Commission is awaited on February 9.

NYSE Euronext said it would now focus on its fruitful standalone strategy that has delivered strong growth and diversification of its core businesses. The company has also announced its intent to resume a $550 million share repurchase program, most likely after the release of its quarterly results on February 10.

Meanwhile, Alpha Beta Netherlands Holding N.V. will publish the termination of the exchange offer and will instruct the custodian banks of the Deutsche Boerse shareholders who accepted the exchange offer to unwind the offer by re-booking the tendered shares. The re-booking of the tendered Deutsche Boerse shares into the original ISIN is expected to occur on February 7, after close of trading.