|  | | 2005 News and Press Releases | | |
HEADLINE NEWS:
U.S. Gives Blessing To NYSE-Nasdaq Mergers
Staff Writer – General Financial/ Business News
Securities Mosaic. November 16, 2005
_________________________________________________________________________
EXCERPT: The Justice Department on Wednesday approved big mergers planned by the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market, saying the new combinations were not likely to damage competition. The deals await approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees U.S. stock markets. The separate mergers by the two biggest stock markets in the world, fierce competitors for investors, will reshape the securities markets. The 213-year-old NYSE, with its floor auction system of human traders, plans to merge with all-electronic rival Archipelago Holdings Inc. in a $6 billion deal. Nasdaq, which is an electronic trading system, is purchasing Instinet Group Inc.'s electronic network for $1.88 billion. After lengthy investigations of both proposed mergers, the Justice Department's Antitrust Division "determined that neither transaction is likely to reduce competition substantially," according to the department. Shareholders voted in September to approve the Nasdaq-Instinet deal, which may be completed by year's end. The proposed merger is part of a dismantling of Instinet, of which British media company Reuters Group PLC owns a majority. On Tuesday, the NYSE agreed to an independent financial review of its proposed acquisition of Archipelago, settling a lawsuit by a group of dissident seat owners on the exchange and allowing a vote on the deal to proceed. The vote by seat owners and Archipelago shareholders is scheduled for Dec. 6. The NYSE, facing increased competition from Nasdaq and other electronic markets, announced on April 20 the proposed merger with Archipelago. The move would turn the not-for-profit Big Board into a publicly traded company. Two days later, Nasdaq said it was buying Instinet's electronic trading network. The chiefs of the NYSE and Nasdaq and the heads of their electronic-market merger partners have assured policymakers that the anticipated consolidation would give the U.S. securities market an edge to compete globally and benefit U.S. investors. |
|
|
