NYSE Board Reaffirms Deutsche Boerse Deal and Rejects Nasdaq Bid

NYSE Euronext  announced today that its Board of Directors unanimously reaffirmed the combination agreement with Deutsche Boerse AG and rejected the "unsolicited and highly conditional" proposal by NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. and IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. to break up NYSE Euronext.  The release stated:

The NYSE Euronext/Deutsche Boerse combination is consistent with the long-term strategy adopted by the NYSE Euronext Board of Directors in 2009, a strategy that the company has regularly reaffirmed and been successfully executing.  The combination with Deutsche Boerse will position the combined company to be the leading global exchange operator and create substantially more long-term value for shareholders, and is significantly more likely to close.

Speaking on behalf of the Board, NYSE Euronext Chairman Jan-Michiel Hessels said:

“Breaking up NYSE Euronext, burdening the pieces with high levels of debt, and destroying its invaluable human capital, would be a strategic mistake in terms of where the global markets are going, and is clearly not in the best interests of our shareholders.   The highly conditional break-up proposal from Nasdaq/ICE would also require shareholders to shoulder unacceptable execution risk. 

“We are confident that the combination with Deutsche Boerse will create compelling value for our shareholders.  With Deutsche Boerse, we are committed to creating the world’s premier exchange group – a geographically diverse business, with strengths in multiple asset classes across the spectrum of capital markets services. The new company will fundamentally change the global exchange industry, establishing a world leader in both derivatives and risk management and the premier global venue for capital-raising.“