SIX Group will sell its share of the Eurex joint venture to Deutsche Brse AG, the co-owner of the derivatives exchange.
The Swiss group says it intends to concentrate on its core business as a supplier of infrastructure to the Swiss financial center and on its internationalization strategy as a pan-European service provider.
SIX Group will receive a payment in cash plus shares in the DBAG created from the merger of DBAG and NYSE Euronext. Reuters reports that DBAG will pay 295 million in cash and an equal value of shares for the stake. DBAG is now the sole shareholder of Eurex Zrich.
What started out as a commercial venture has over the years increasingly become a financial investment, SIX Group said in a statement. The planned merger of DBAG and NYSE Euronext represents a further acceleration of this process. Moreover, the increasing globalization and standardization of the derivatives business severely limits the scope for SIX Group to make any contribution. SIX Group sees its future in supplying an independent, first-class infrastructure to the Swiss financial center and in systematically executing its internationalization strategy as a pan-European service provider.
Other cooperation arrangements between SIX Group and DBAG are unaffected by the sale of the Eurex holding. SIX Group has considerable influence on the strategic development and operations in the exchange for structured products Scoach and the global index provider STOXX. Both joint ventures remain key elements of the SIX Group business portfolio, the Swiss group said in the statement.
DBAG agreed to acquire NYSE Euronext in February.
(CG)