NYSE says no more concessions for Deutsche Boerse merger

A senior executive of the New York Stock Exchange said it would not make further concessions to secure approval by EU regulators of its planned merger with German stock market operator Deutsche Boerse. "We won't go any further because that threatens the business logic of the deal," NYSE Euronext deputy chief executive Dominique Cerutti told the French business daily La Tribune. NYSE chief executive Duncan Niederauer acknowledged Thursday that it appeared the European Commission was set to reject the plans to create the world's biggest stock exchange group, although he said they had received no formal notification. A person familiar with the EU review told AFP on Tuesday that the proposed merger as it stands was unacceptable. EU competition authorities opened a probe into the deal in August over concerns that the merged company would control 90 percent of the European derivatives market. In November the companies proposed to separate some of their derivatives operations to allay EU concerns, but sources said the Commission was unsatisfied. Niederauer insisted that the Commission's call for NYSE and Deutsche Boerse to sell off some of their derivatives businesses to allay competition concerns was unfounded and based on flawed analyses. Cerutti was quoted as saying in the Friday edition of La Tribune that Commission experts had made their analyses "based on erroneous data". He also noted that the Commission had consulted their direct competitors about the planned merger. "They also questioned numerous banks which are at the same time our clients and competitors, and they obviously oppose our project," he said. The Commission is set to make a final decision on the proposed merger on February 9. The merger of Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext, which operates exchanges in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon in addition to New York would create the world's largest market operator worth over $17 billion (nearly 14 billion euros). Deutsche Boerse shareholders would own 60 percent of the new combined, Netherlands-incorporated firm.