CME might try to break up the German company's $10bn acquisition of NYSE Euronext. While CME has played down the speculation, there are signs that Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext executives are taking the potential threat of a hostile bid seriously, despite the imposing hurdles that such bids unusually encounter.
Negotiations before the deal was announced on Tuesday included what to do if CME decided to make a bid for Deutsche Börse or NYSE Euronext. The agreement also includes an unusually large breakup fee of €250m ($339m) that each company would have to pay the other if it walks away from the deal.
Investors in the German company, including many large institutional shareholders in the US, would be likely to give serious consideration to any CME offer, partly because of the company's hefty market value. In addition, CME and Deutsche Börse would be more heavily concentrated in futures than the lower-margin business of trading stocks.
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