European leaders stepped up the pressure on Tuesday on shareholders in Paris-based stock market operator Euronext to agree to merge with Frankfurt’s Deutsche Boerse.
Last week the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext signed off on a $10-billion merger paving the way for the first trans-Atlantic stock market.
Deutsche Boerse, which is the operator of the Frankfurt stock exchange, had been locked in a long-running battle with the New York exchange for control of Euronext, which operates stock markets in Paris, Brussels, Lisbon and Amsterdam.
But with Deutsche Boerse indicating that it planned to keep up the fight for Euronext and a large group of stockholders in the Paris-based group supporting teaming up with the Deutsche Boerse, French President Jacques Chirac spoke out on Tuesday for a German-French alliance.
”I would be for a French-German solution,” Chirac said following talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. His comments echo remarks made last week by the German government’s official spokesperson.
While stressing it was up to the respective groups’ shareholders to finally decide on the merger, the German government’s Deputy Speaker Thomas Steg told reporters on Friday that the Deutsche Boerse had made ”an extraordinarily attractive offer”.
He went on to say that Berlin ”backed European stock market alliances”, adding that only then would the bourses have a chance ”to establish competitive structures”.
Commenting at her joint press conference with Chirac, Merkel said that she supported the emergence of stronger economic unities in Germany.
But she also again stressed that Berlin believed the decision on the merger had to be based on economic factors and that the politicians should not be involved in the stock market consolidation moves. – Sapa-DPA