2nd UPDATE: Nasdaq CEO To Talk With DOJ About Bid For NYSE
10 Maggio 2011 - 9:54PM
Dow Jones News
The chief executive of Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ) said he
anticipates discussing antitrust remedies with regulators reviewing
his company's proposal to take over the New York Stock Exchange,
but that any ground given wouldn't dramatically change his plan to
create a flagship for U.S. share listings.
Department of Justice staff have set a brisk pace for reviewing
the proposal, according to Nasdaq OMX CEO Bob Greifeld, who added
that he expects stricter oversight of the listings business should
his company's bid for NYSE Euronext (NYX) win out.
"We expect there will be remedy discussions with the DOJ," said
Greifeld, speaking to investors at an event hosted by UBS AG (UBS).
"We're sanguine in that these actions don't change the business
model we're looking at."
The combination of nearly all U.S. share listings under a single
parent is seen as the biggest U.S. regulatory hurdle facing the
joint proposal by Nasdaq OMX and partner IntercontinentalExchange
Inc. (ICE) to buy NYSE Euronext, which in February agreed to merge
with Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE).
NYSE Euronext has repeatedly rebuffed its uninvited suitors,
prompting ICE and Nasdaq last week to take their case directly to
Big Board shareholders. Achieving some clarity on whether the
ICE-Nasdaq proposal could pass muster with U.S. regulators is key
to securing NYSE investor support ahead of a July 7 vote on the
Deutsche Boerse combination.
Greifeld said in an interview Tuesday there was little Nasdaq
OMX and ICE could do to delay that vote, which the partners
yesterday said was being "rushed" by an NYSE Euronext board that
has refused to entertain the competing offer.
"The only way that vote gets pushed back is if they believe that
they're not going to get the vote, then they would voluntarily push
it back," Greifeld said.
"We find it curious that shareholders have to vote on ... any
deal so far ahead of regulatory approval, especially when the
regulatory approval process and the remedies that might be
requested can have an impact on the financial aspect of the deal,"
Greifeld said. "So we think the rush to a July 7 vote is taking
away certainly some shareholder visibility from what the economics
of the transaction might be."
Both the NYSE-Deutsche Boerse and Nasdaq-ICE teams say their
deal for NYSE Euronext can close by the end of 2011. Nasdaq and ICE
are prepared to pursue their offer for as long as 12 months, but
Greifeld said Tuesday he didn't think it would take that long.
Jeff Sprecher, chief executive of ICE, told investors at the
same event Tuesday that if negotiations with NYSE's board were
opened, Nasdaq and ICE may be open to tweaking the mix of cash and
equity in their offer.
Greifeld said that a formal filing of the Nasdaq-ICE tender
offer for NYSE shares would come in "a couple weeks," and that the
partners are striving to remove some of the conditions from their
offer, which include getting around a 20% cap on any one entity's
ownership in the stock.
Should Nasdaq OMX's bid for its archrival fail, Greifeld said
his company would evaluate new opportunities in markets that a
combined NYSE-Deutsche Boerse would dominate -- specifically the
trading of European futures and options contracts.
"If there is that vertical silo across Europe on listed
derivatives, the customers will want to express their will and
create alternatives to that monopoly," he said. "And it would be
our job to be properly positioned in that eventuality."
--By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; 312 750 4117;
jacob.bunge@dowjones.com
Grafico Azioni NYSE Group (NYSE:NYX)
Storico
Da Giu 2024 a Lug 2024
Grafico Azioni NYSE Group (NYSE:NYX)
Storico
Da Lug 2023 a Lug 2024