The operation of concentration between the German Stock Exchange , NYSE Euronext it is prohibited. This was established by the EU Court which confirmed, in this way, the decision of the Commission that it would not have committed any error of law or judgment in assuming that exchange traded derivatives (ETDs) and over-the-counter traded (OTC) derivatives fell into separate markets.
Deutsche Borsa's arguments relating to the gain in terms of efficiency that the concentration operation could have brought about and to the commitments undertaken by the companies to counterbalance the restrictions on competition were also rejected.
The draft merger between Deutsche Borse and Nyse Euronext had been notified in Brussels in June 2011 and envisaged the creation of a company incorporated under Dutch law, called HoldCo. According to the plan, all outstanding securities issued by Deutsche Borsa would be purchased as part of a tender offer.
The transaction had been declared incompatible with the internal market by the Commission as early as 2012, due to the possible effects of the merger project on the markets of certain European derivative financial instruments traded on the stock exchange and, therefore, due to the possible obstacles to effective competition through the creation of a dominant position.
“None of the arguments put forward by Deutsche Borsa – reads the sentence of the EU Court – allows us to call into question the conclusions of the Commission on the definition of the reference market”.
