Exchange operator NYSE Euronext (NYX) believes there is only a small chance that the planned merger with Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE) will materialize, its chief executive said in an interview with Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad.
“You have to be realistic. That chance is very small. Not 0, but small. Only a few mergers or acquisitions in Europe got the green light from the European Commission after negative advice from the Competition Commissioner,” Duncan Niederauer told the newspaper.
Media reports earlier this week said the Commission is set to block the merger, following a negative recommendation from antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia.
The E.U.’s competition authorities earlier this month determined that the merger of Deutsche Boerse and NYSE, which run Europe’s two biggest derivatives exchanges among other markets, would represent a monopoly.
The E.U. decision is expected in early February, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
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