New York Stock Exchange rejects Nasdaq bid

Apr 21, 2011, 16:34 GMT

New York - The New York Stock Exchange rejected Thursday a takeover bid from Nasdaq and said it planned to follow through on plans to merge with Germany's main stock exchange.

'Our board has reviewed the information recently provided by Nasdaq/ICE in connection with their proposal and concluded that this proposal is substantially the same as what was previously rejected,' said NYSE Euronext Chairman Jan-Michiel Hessels.

'Consequently, our view has not changed. This proposal does not provide compelling value, has unacceptable execution risk and is therefore not in the best interests of NYSE Euronext shareholders.'

Nasdaq and a partner, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), Tuesday mounted a second rival bid for the NYSE, saying they had 3.8 billion dollars in committed financing for the takeover.

Nasdaq, which operates the high-tech stock index, was rebuffed earlier this month when the board of the New York Stock Exchange voted unanimously to endorse a merger deal with Deutsche Boerse AG.

Deutsche Boerse has agreed to acquire Nasdaq for 9.5 billion dollars in stock. Nasdaq has offered 11.3 billion dollars, including the 3.8 billion dollars in cash.

Deutsche Boerse has also pledged to pay NYSE 357 million dollars if the deal falls apart. Nasdaq and ICE, which is a commodities exchange, on Tuesday nearly matched the pledge with a guarantee of their own of 350 million dollars if antitrust authorities blocked their proposed takeover.

In February, Deutsche Boerse unveiled a deal to acquire NYSE Euronext for about 9.6 billion dollars in stock. NYSE Euronext chief executive Duncan Niederauer called the agreement a 'merger of equals.'

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