NEW YORK — When the New York Stock Exchange announced a $10-billion deal to acquire Euronext five months ago, there was little hint of the turbulence that lay ahead.
Based in Amsterdam, Euronext operates stock markets in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon, as well as a futures exchange in London. By buying Euronext, the NYSE would attain a major beachhead in its bid for global expansion.
Since the June 1 announcement, however, the deal has been hampered by persistent opposition from European regulators and business interests that view the NYSE as an interloper on their turf. Deutsche Boerse, which runs the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, has continued to press its rival bid to buy Euronext.
Though the acquisition is still considered likely, many experts believe NYSE Group Inc. may have to sweeten its offer.
"Completion of the merger on deal terms similar to those announced, while likely, is by no means a foregone conclusion," Merrill Lynch analyst Patrick Pinschmidt wrote in a report to clients.
This much is clear: The NYSE has staked a lot on acquiring Euronext and says it will do whatever it takes to prevail.
"We are focused and believe that we will win," NYSE Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chai said in an interview.
The NYSE is particularly drawn to the LIFFE futures exchange in London, which trades derivatives, or financial instruments tied to the value of an underlying asset. Acquiring LIFFE would speed its push into profitable derivatives trading, a process the Big Board began last year by acquiring the Archipelago electronic trading system.
Euronext also would boost the NYSE's small bond-trading operation, shore up its international stock-listing business and save costs through the consolidation of trading systems.
Euronext and NYSE shareholders are expected to vote on the deal in December.
Most individual investors in the U.S. wouldn't be directly affected by the NYSE-Euronext deal because they don't designate where their stock trades are handled.
Nonetheless, experts believe that putting the Big Board and European exchanges under a single owner will improve the ease and efficiency of trading stocks internationally.
Mutual fund companies that execute huge stock trades may see a more direct benefit. Blending the exchanges would result in a greater volume of stock orders, which could give the funds a better chance of completing trades at desired prices.
