THE New York Stock Exchange has expressed a strong interest in buying a European exchange, with London top of the list of potential targets.
An NYSE approach for the London Stock Exchange in the spring could trigger an auction with Nasdaq, the other New York stock market.
John Thain, the NYSE chief executive, said it was keen to participate in the consolidation of European exchanges and indicated that an acquisition was his preferred strategy.
Macquarie, the Australian bank, has already tabled a 580p-a-share, £1.5 billion bid for the LSE. But, with shares in the LSE trading at more than £1 higher, few give the offer much chance of success.
Mr Thain said the NYSE had a shortlist of three potential targets — the LSE, Deutsche Börse and Euronext. However, it was unlikely to be in a position to bid until next month or March. “We will be a participant in the consolidation of European exchanges. There are synergies. It will make it easier for investors to invest in both places,” Mr Thain said.
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This week, also speaking in Davos, Bob Greifeld, the Nasdaq chief executive, denied that he was in talks with the LSE. Nasdaq is known to be interested, the two having held abortive merger talks in 2002.
Shares in the LSE, which has said it was keen to retain its independence, ended up 10½p at 707p yesterday. A tie-up between London and either US exchange faces difficulties, chief among them would be which regulatory regime governs the new market.
Mr Thain said that the benefits would include easier listing for European companies and the consolidation of technology between the NYSE and a European exchange.
The NYSE chief indicated that he saw advantages in a merger with the LSE because the two exchanges shared commonalities and compatibility of their business models. In contrast, Euronext, which is also considering a bid for the LSE, had a more diverse range of products.