NYSE Euronext shareholders approved Monday their $8.2-billion acquisition by the InterContinentalExchange, which will create the world's biggest exchange operator. NYSE Euronext shareholders representing 64 percent of the company's stock voted to approve the deal at a meeting. The company operates the New York Stock Exchange as well as bourses in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon, plus the European derivatives market Liffe.
"Today is an important step toward completing this exciting combination, and ensuring the long-term success of the New York Stock Exchange group, Liffe, and our Euronext platform," NYSE Euronext chief executive Duncan L. Niederauer said in a statement. Atlanta-based ICE, which made the offer for NYSE Euronext in December, runs a specialist market on which raw materials are traded, along with financial products linked to foreign exchange and interest rates. The tie-up is still awaiting approval from regulators, with the companies having already announced plans to sell the European exchanges.