Euronext is willing to proceed with a merger with Deutsche Börse or, at the very least, with a convergence of their respective exchange activities. The opening was made by CEO Stéphane Boujnah in an interview with the Financial Times, published this Monday. Boujnah did not rule out a full merger between the two groups, but acknowledged that such an operation would face "significant regulatory hurdles." The CEO advocates for uniting exchange businesses to create synergies between European equity markets, arguing that the German equity market is shallow while Euronext's is deep, and that a single market could serve Europe's three largest economies — Germany, France, and Italy.
The idea is not new. There has been talk of uniting the two operators for decades, but previous attempts have failed: Deutsche Börse withdrew a proposal in 2006 and a merger was blocked by the European Commission in 2012 over competition concerns. In 2023, leaders of the two companies discussed creating a joint venture for European listings, in an attempt to compete with the United States.
For now, there are no ongoing negotiations. Deutsche Börse itself has stated that there are no talks about a potential merger and has reaffirmed its commitment to its European capital ecosystem project, built over more than two decades. The complete "big bang" seems distant, with the most realistic scenario being a partial partnership or a joint venture between the exchanges.
Challenges to overcome include political and regulatory issues, as well as concerns from public shareholders such as Italy's CDP or France's Caisse des Dépôts. Boujnah has put the issue on the table, and now attention is turned to Frankfurt.
