Deutsche Boerse, NYSE Euronext merge

Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext announced a merger yesterday that would span two continents to create the world’s biggest exchange by revenues and a powerhouse in derivatives trading.

The firms said the merger would strengthen their position amid greater competition for business in emerging economies, from 24-hour trading and from smaller, more innovative trading platforms.

At the same time, NYSE Euronext chief executive officer Duncan Niederauer – who will be the CEO of the yet-unnamed new company – rejected suggestions that the deal was actually a takeover of the iconic but technologically outpaced New York Stock Exchange by the Frankfurt firm.

“It is a merger, it is a combination,” he said. “We believe this combination is the next step... to reinvent the industry.”

The merger, first revealed a week ago, comes amid a major shake-up of the global securities and derivatives markets industry.

Last week the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and TMX Group – which runs markets in Toronto and Montreal – announced a merger.

The Australian and Singapore bourses are working on a similar deal, and yesterday BATS Global Markets, the number-three US stock exchange operator, said it was in talks with Brazilian asset management firm Claritas to create a new stock exchange in Brazil.

The Chicago-based futures and derivatives powerhouse CME Group also said yesterday it would “pursue organic growth opportunities” in its derivatives business and “expand globally.”

The German-US merger would join Deutsche Bourse’s Frankfurt stock exchange with NYSE Euronext’s markets in New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon.