The merger between the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext may not be the end of the road in creating an exchange with trans-Atlantic listings, NYSE CEO John Thain told The Financial Times Monday.
Thain told The Financial Times that the NYSE would not rule out launching a new London-based exchange if NYSE-Euronext failed to deliver enough international listings.
Thain continued to say the NYSE may also pursue a buyout of the London Stock Exchange, but his preference would be to create a new, rival exchange in London because state-side competitor NASDAQ recently bought up a 25% share in the LSE.
British rules prevent NASDAQ from making another all-out effort to buy the LSE after dropping previous efforts, effectively benching the exchange from its own merger discussions until Sept. 30.
Talks of buying the LSE have become more frequent recently following an announcement by UK’s financial regulator that British companies would not necessarily be restricted by US financial compliance regulations if a US company bought the LSE.
But some have speculated that the merger between the NYSE and Euronext may not be a done deal because of Deutsche Borse’s refusal to abandon efforts to buy Euronext.
After the NYSE agreed to buy Euronext this month for $9.96 billion, Deutsche Borse has reportedly considered upping the cash portion of its bid, bringing their offer to an estimated – though unconfirmed by Deutsche Borse – $11 billion (see: “Deutsche Borse Considers Upping Cash Offer For Euronext” ).
Further offers from Deutsche Borse could ignite a third round of bid sniping and fervent back-and-forth discussion between the NYSE, Deutsche Borse and Euronext.
Competition for Euronext has remained heated since its participation in active merger discussions first hit headlines in mid-May.