Nasdaq moves in on NYSE bid
NASDAQ stock exchange is poised to make a hostile takeover bid for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), after entering late stage talks with Bank of America Merrill Lynch to fund the attempted break-up of NYSE and Deutsche Boerse’s merger.
Nasdaq is close to securing $5bn (£3.1bn) of financing for its takeover bid, which could be unveiled as soon as today.
The firm has teamed up with Intercontinental Exchange, which would snap up NYSE’s European assets under the break-up plans.
However, talks were said to be ongoing last night and it was unclear what final shape the possible bid would take.
Nasdaq has been considering muscling in on the NYSE-Deutsche Boerse merger for several weeks, as it attempts to reposition itself amid a flurry of mergers and takeovers across the world’s stock exchanges.
NYSE announced its $10bn merger plan with Deutsche Boerse last month, although politicians on both side of the Atlantic have said the deals could face competition hurdles.
Nasdaq and Bank of America declined to comment, while the NYSE and Intercontinental Exchange did not return calls yesterday.
Bringing Nasdaq and NYSE together would create a stock-trading powerhouse in the United States and Europe that also dominates US options and listings businesses. It would be a bold move by Nasdaq chief executive Robert Greifeld, and, if successful, would redraw the global exchange map.
Any bid would follow weeks of speculation that Nasdaq, the odd one out amid a merger frenzy, would jump into the fray with its own bid for an exchange operator.