Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) have retained a high-profile proxy firm to press the merits of their joint plan to buy NYSE Euronext (NYX), according to three people familiar with the situation.

The two exchanges have retained Innisfree M&A, which ran the 2007 proxy battle waged by ICE in its unsuccessful effort to break up an agreed bid for the Chicago Board of Trade by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, now known as CME Group Inc. (CME).

ICE and Nasdaq OMX on Friday launched an unsolicited offer that tops the terms of the Big Board operator's agreed-to merger with Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE, DBOEF). Jeff Sprecher, chairman and chief executive of ICE, said Friday that he planned to learn from the CBOT loss and listen closely to shareholders.

NYSE Euronext in a statement Friday urged shareholders "not to take any action with respect to the proposal" from Nasdaq OMX and ICE, while its board reviews proposed terms.

In a notice to customers and issuers reviewed by Dow Jones, NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer said his company remains "committed" to the agreed-upon deal with Deutsche Boerse while the NYSE Euronext board reviews the new proposal from ICE and Nasdaq.

Those two exchanges are touting greater synergies and better prospects for growth in splitting NYSE's securities-linked and futures businesses, over the combination of NYSE Euronext with Deutsche Boerse.

Representatives of ICE had no immediate comment.

-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4117; jacob.bunge@dowjones.com

--Gina Chon contributed to this article.
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