UK Only Article:  standard article Issue:  China and the paradox of prosperity Fly Title:  Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext Rubric:  What should investors make of faltering merger plans? FOR the chief executives of Deutsche Börse (DB) and NYSE Euronext, this week’s hobnobbing in Davos was strictly business. A $9.5 billion plan to unite the two exchanges was derailed in early December when European Commission staff revealed they were likely to advise blocking it on competition grounds. The exchanges are lobbying hard to persuade the 27 EU commissioners to ignore their staff and approve the deal. A decision is due to be made on February 1st. On the face of it, investors should support the commission’s recommendation to stymie the deal. Its competition wing is mandated to stop mergers that are likely to raise prices, reduce quality or dull innovation. In this case the concern is that the exchanges’ derivatives businesses—DB’s Eurex and NYSE Euronext’s Liffe—would share over 95% of European trading for some assets. There may also be concerns that a merged exchange would be able to …

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Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext: Competing arguments