European Commission gives nod to NYSE takeover
The proposal of IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) to take over NYSE-Euronext for $8.2 billion has been approved by the European Commission which said that the two were not direct competitors in most markets and would continue to face strong competition from other exchanges.
ICE, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is best known as a commodities marketplace. In December 2012, it had announced its stock-and-cash offer for NYSE-Euronext. The deal will give ICE control of the New York Stock Exchange and London-based Liffe, Europe’s second-largest derivatives market.
The European Commission has excluded the possibility of any anticompetitive effect arising from the take over. The combined ICE-NYSE Euronext is slated to become the third-largest exchange group globally, behind Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and CME Group.
In 2012, a joint bid for NYSE-Euronext by ICE and Nasdaq had failed on competition concerns following which ICE had proactively asked the Commission to examine the new bid.
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Month: Current Affairs - June, 2013
Category: International / World Current Affairs