FRANKFURT - Deutsche Boerse and
NYSE Euronext may call a merged company "DB
NYSE Group," according to two people close to
the negotiations, though the companies said no
name for what could become the world's largest
exchange operator has been picked.
The Frankfurt- and the New York-based
companies will likely sidestep thorny issues of
technology in a bid to strike a merger deal by
early next week, the Europe-based sources said.
The companies are edging toward an outline
deal to be agreed on Tuesday or Wednesday,
one source said.The exchange operators said on Saturday their
negotiations continued. "No name has been
finalized and we expect any decision on a name
would be made at a later date, subject to the
successful completion of a merger agreement,"
they said in a joint statement.
Earlier this week, the companies unveiled the first
details of the merger plan that would give
Deutsche Boerse shareholders about a 60
percent stake, and name NYSE Euronext's head
Duncan Niederauer as chief executive.
The two Europe-based sources said the sides
have still not finalized a merger document that
can be presented to Deutsche Boerse's board of
directors, confirming earlier reports.
They said the name DB NYSE Group has
emerged as the front runner among the options
for the new company.
Negotiations over a name, and where to locate
various operations across the two continents,
highlight some of the difficulties in bringing
together companies that are both operationally
complicated and symbols of national pride.
Decisions over leadership, including the
composition of a combined company's board,
have been made, sources said earlier this week.
In their talks, the two sides are hammering out a
framework deal which focuses on functions and
personalities but key issues, such as over
information technology (IT), are likely to be
postponed.
"How you make the details work later on is a
different matter," one of these people said.
Rather than deciding now which technology
platform to use for derivatives trading on a
group level, the parties are seeking to agree on
"a person for IT coordination."
This person will later decide whether to use
Deutsche Boerse's Eurex or Euronext's Liffe
technology, or whether to develop a new
platform using staff from both camps.
It is also not yet decided whether the combined
group will take the legal form of SE or an NV (the
corporate designation) for the Amsterdam-based
legal entity, the person said.
Despite the uncertainty, there is quiet optimism
the two sides will be able to make an
announcement early next week.
Unlike when talks between the two companies
were disrupted by a leak in December 2008,
negotiations have now reached "a much more
mature level," and are more likely to bear fruit, a
person close to the deal said.
The two powerhouse exchange operators said
on Wednesday they were in advanced talks to
merge, just hours after London Stock Exchange
unveiled a bid for Canadian market operator TMX
Group Inc.
NYSE Euronext may call a merged company "DB
NYSE Group," according to two people close to
the negotiations, though the companies said no
name for what could become the world's largest
exchange operator has been picked.
The Frankfurt- and the New York-based
companies will likely sidestep thorny issues of
technology in a bid to strike a merger deal by
early next week, the Europe-based sources said.
The companies are edging toward an outline
deal to be agreed on Tuesday or Wednesday,
one source said.The exchange operators said on Saturday their
negotiations continued. "No name has been
finalized and we expect any decision on a name
would be made at a later date, subject to the
successful completion of a merger agreement,"
they said in a joint statement.
Earlier this week, the companies unveiled the first
details of the merger plan that would give
Deutsche Boerse shareholders about a 60
percent stake, and name NYSE Euronext's head
Duncan Niederauer as chief executive.
The two Europe-based sources said the sides
have still not finalized a merger document that
can be presented to Deutsche Boerse's board of
directors, confirming earlier reports.
They said the name DB NYSE Group has
emerged as the front runner among the options
for the new company.
Negotiations over a name, and where to locate
various operations across the two continents,
highlight some of the difficulties in bringing
together companies that are both operationally
complicated and symbols of national pride.
Decisions over leadership, including the
composition of a combined company's board,
have been made, sources said earlier this week.
In their talks, the two sides are hammering out a
framework deal which focuses on functions and
personalities but key issues, such as over
information technology (IT), are likely to be
postponed.
"How you make the details work later on is a
different matter," one of these people said.
Rather than deciding now which technology
platform to use for derivatives trading on a
group level, the parties are seeking to agree on
"a person for IT coordination."
This person will later decide whether to use
Deutsche Boerse's Eurex or Euronext's Liffe
technology, or whether to develop a new
platform using staff from both camps.
It is also not yet decided whether the combined
group will take the legal form of SE or an NV (the
corporate designation) for the Amsterdam-based
legal entity, the person said.
Despite the uncertainty, there is quiet optimism
the two sides will be able to make an
announcement early next week.
Unlike when talks between the two companies
were disrupted by a leak in December 2008,
negotiations have now reached "a much more
mature level," and are more likely to bear fruit, a
person close to the deal said.
The two powerhouse exchange operators said
on Wednesday they were in advanced talks to
merge, just hours after London Stock Exchange
unveiled a bid for Canadian market operator TMX
Group Inc.
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