NYSE Tries Italian Job
NYSE Euronext
(NYX)
is throwing its hat into the fray for Borsa Italiana.
Just a day after the London Stock Exchange said it was in talks over a possible merger with the Italian exchange operator, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange submitted a preliminary bid, according to
The Wall Street Journal
.
Both exchanges have offered around $2 billion for Borsa Italiana, reports say.
The news comes as exchanges across the world are hooking up in a frenzy to expand product offerings, gain efficiencies and reach more global customers.
The Big Board itself completed the largest trans-Atlantic deal in April, when it merged with European exchange operator Euronext. Deutsche Boerse agreed in May to acquire the
International Securities Exchange
(ISE)
, one of the largest options exchanges.
The
Nasdaq Stock Market
has agreed to buy Nordic exchange operator OMX. Nasdaq owns a 30% stake in the London exchange and has been trying unsuccessfully to acquire the LSE. After a failed bid for the exchange expired in February, Nasdaq must wait until early next year before it can try to acquire the LSE again.
A Borsa Italiana spokeswoman told
Reuters
that the only offer currently under discussion is from the LSE. A NYSE spokesman declined to comment to
TheStreet.com
.
