Nasdaq OMX Group is set to launch a USD 12 bln bid for NYSE Euronext later this week, various reports in the US media claim, citing unnamed sources, BBC informs. The US technology exchange is said to be seeking USD 5bln debt to fund the bid. The deal would compete directly with the USD 10.2bln tie-up between NYSE and Deutsche Boerse already agreed between the two companies’ boards in February. It would create a heavily US-oriented firm, and reportedly includes the sale of existing European assets of NYSE. Nasdaq also reportedly plans to finance the bid by selling USD 5bln of its own assets. This would include spinning off some of NYSE’s European businesses, including its London-based derivatives business, Liffe, to the Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange. If Nasdaq succeeds in thwarting the planned merger with Deutsche Boerse, it would have to foot a USD 250 M break-up fee already agreed by NYSE with the German exchange to help cement their deal.
