Green light

Deutsche Börse has won approval by the US Justice to acquire NYSE Euronext in a $9 billion (6.9 billion euro) deal to create the world's biggest exchange operator, although the deal still faces strong regulatory headwinds in Europe.

On Thursday, the Justice Department approved the deal but with some conditions. Deutsche Börse and NYSE, for instance, must divest its 31.5 percent interest in Direct Edge, a US stock exchange operator, while continuing to provide some services to it.

Biggest hurdle still to come

The divesture would ensure that "participants in the markets for US equities exchange products and services will continue to receive the full benefits of robust competition, said acting assistant US general attorney Sharis Pozen, who is in charge of the Justice Department's antitrust division.

Observers believe, however, that the biggest hurdle the mega-merger needs to clear remains in Europe, where representatives from both exchanges have been holding negotiations with European Union antitrust officials.

EU competition watchdogs have expressed concerns about approving a combination of Deutsche Börse's Eurex and NYSE Euronext's Liffe. They worry that a merged entity would have a monopoly over European listed derivates trading, accounting for 90 percent of such trading in the region.

Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext have said they would not pursue the merger, which they first announced in February, if they were asked to divest either Eurex or Liffe.

A formal decision by the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, isn't expected until January or February.

Author: John Blau (Reuters, AFP, AP)
Editor: Andreas Illmer