Nasdaq OMX And ICE Made $11.3 Billion Unsolicited Bid For NYSE Euronext

From Bloomberg, "Nasdaq, ICE Top Deutsche Boerse With $11.3 Billion NYSE Bid" by Whitney Kisling, Inyoung Hwang and Nikolaj Gammeltoft:

Nasdaq OMX and ICE made an unsolicited bid of about $11.3 billion for NYSE Euronext (NYX) today, trying to snatch the owner of the New York Stock Exchange away from Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse. Nasdaq OMX and ICE offered $42.50 in cash and stock for each NYSE Euronext share, according to a statement released today. The shares closed at $35.17 yesterday. Deutsche Boerse’s February all-stock agreement to purchase NYSE Euronext values the company at about $35.04 a share.

As part of the deal, ICE would purchase NYSE Euronext’s Liffe futures markets, while Nasdaq OMX would keep its U.S. options markets. The Deutsche Boerse deal, valued at $9.53 billion when announced in February, creates the world’s largest exchange operator with venues in the U.S. and Europe.