SEC Approves SRO Rule Changes For NYSE-Euronext Merger

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

19 February 2007

The US Securities and Exchange Commission last week approved rule changes by New York Stock Exchange LLC and NYSE Arca, Inc. related to the proposed business combination between the NYSE Group and Euronext.

Euronext is a company organized under the laws of the Netherlands, and is the owner of five European exchanges.

The Commission-approved rule changes will enable the businesses of NYSE Group and Euronext to be wholly-owned subsidiaries of a new publicly-traded holding company, NYSE Euronext. NYSE Group and Euronext would each be a separate subsidiary of NYSE Euronext, and their respective businesses and assets will continue to be held as they are currently held.

The business combination would be a cross-border transaction that fits within the framework the Commission has developed in connection with other transactions involving self-regulatory organizations.

It would maintain the New York Stock Exchange's and NYSE Arca's ability to each meet obligations as self-regulatory organizations and continue to provide the Commission with tools necessary to effectively oversee these self-regulatory organizations.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox explained that:

"Our capital markets and our trading markets have long been global, but this pending combination is a sign that the trend is accelerating. The SEC and the Euronext College of Regulators, based on extensive collaboration and consultation, are well prepared to undertake the cross-border regulatory responsibilities to which this combination will give rise."

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