Finextra – Pan-European exchange Euronext is under pressure from one of its largest shareholders to drop its takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange and kick-start merger talks with Deutsche B\u00c3\u0192\u00c2\u00b6rseinstead.<\/p>\n
US hedge fund Atticus Capital – which says it now owns a 9.1% stake in Euronext – has cast doubt over a possible merger between the European exchange operator and LSE after saying it would “support a friendly merger of equals between Euronext and Deutsche B\u00c3\u0192\u00c2\u00b6rse”.<\/p>\n
In a statement, David Slager, senior portfolio manager at Atticus, says a merger between the two “would create a formidable Euro zone champion with the resources and franchise to compete for global liquidity and global listings”.<\/p>\n
“Significant cost savings would benefit both shareholders and customers of the merged company, making the European capital markets more efficient,” he adds.<\/p>\n