Euronext Rejects Deutsche Bid
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Shareholders of European stock-exchange operator Euronext rejected a proposal yesterday to commit in principle to a takeover by Deutsche Boerse Group, giving a boost to a rival bid from the New York Stock Exchange.
As the matchmaking dance between some of the world’s largest stock exchanges continued, Euronext’s boards reiterated they currently prefer an offer from the NYSE Group Incorporated to one proposed by the German stock exchange.
Euronext CEO Jean-Francois Theodore said at the annual shareholders meeting that he and the supervisory board had not made a final decision to formally endorse either bid, but advised shareholders to vote against declaring a preference for Deutsche Boerse.
“Your board is only telling you, asking you, advising you, not to deprive yourself of your freedom of choice,” he said.
Of shares voting at the meeting yesterday, 54% were against and 38% in favor of the proposal to commit in principle to the German exchange. Others abstained.
Deutsche Boerse, which holds its own shareholder meeting today, said it will be reviewing the implications of the Euronext vote over the coming days. The NYSE declined to comment on the results.
Euronext, which runs the Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Lisbon exchanges, sits at the center of the current round of stock-market consolidation, after the Nasdaq Stock Market Incorporated acquired 25% of the London Stock Exchange PLC.
