Deutsche Boerse, operator of the German stock exchange, refused on Monday to budge on the terms of its offer to merge with Euronext, indicating it would not increase its bid or be drawn into a bidding battle with the New York Stock Exchange for the pan-European rival.
Deutsche Boerse denied a newspaper report which said the Frankfurt stock exchange was considering an all-share offer that would value each Euronext share at about €90 ($114).
”We deny the report in the Financial Times,” it said in a statement.
”We issued a clear statement on Friday that we are planning a merger of partners with Euronext. Our proposals as they stand do not foresee the payment of a premium on top of the enterprise value of both firms,” it added.
The statement came amid speculation that Deutsche Boerse might up its bid for Euronext after the NYSE earlier on Monday unveiled its own offer for Euronext.
The New York Stock Exchange wants to tie the knot with the pan-European exchange to create a group with a value of $21-billion.
A merger of NYSE and Euronext, which operates the Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon stock exchanges, would create the world’s leading bourse, at nearly three times the size of its nearest rival, the US firm said.
And a deal would isolate Deutsche Boerse and force the German operator to look for other partners in Europe.
Deutsche Boerse insisted that its own negotiations with Euronext had not broken down.
”We remain contact with Euronext,” it insisted.
In its bid to woo Euronext, Deutsche Boerse had signalled last Friday that it was prepared to make important concessions on key issues, such as the site of the merged company’s headquarters and on the future structure of the group.
But investors appeared sceptical about Deutsche Boerse’s chances of success.
In early trading on Monday, the German company’s shares were showing a loss of €3,97 or 3,58% at €106,77. – Sapa-AFP