Euronext and the New York Stock Exchange are set to announce a merger that will create the world's first trans-Atlantic bourse, a British newspaper reported Sunday.
The all-stock merger will create the biggest trading platform in the world, valued at $20 billion, the Sunday Times reported.
So that latest story seems to be consistent with what's out there from Bloomberg, Reuters and the like. Euronext will choose its suitor: either NYSE or Deutsche Bourse, which proposed a merger with Euronext on Friday.
I know that NYSE's John Thain has remarked on his desire to get a foothold in the derivatives business and Euronext is sure to provide that entry. Meanwhile Nasdaq is floundering, having spent quite a bit to acquire a stake in LSE, a strategy that seems to be going nowhere at the moment. Nasdaq's recent credit rating downgrade by S&P seems to have given NYSE the opportunity to pounce and seize leadership among the newly public American exchanges.
