BNP Paribas opposes Euronext-NYSE deal

PARIS: BNP Paribas, the biggest French bank by market capitalisation, opposed a merger of pan-European stock market operator Euronext and the New York Stock Exchange.

Dominique Hoenn, the vice-chairman of Euronext and senior advisor at BNP Paribas, voted against the merger at a board meeting of Euronext, before revealing Hoenn’s close ties with Germany’s Deutsche Boerse.

BNP Paribas owns about 1% of Euronext, but is part of a shareholder pact comprising French banks Societe Generale, Dexia, Credit Agricole and state-owned CDC.

The pact controls about 10% of Euronext. A senior executive of another bank in the pact, said that BNP Paribas was the only member directly opposed to the deal. The chairman of BNP Paribas, Michel Pebereau, preferred a deal between Euronext and Deutsche Boerse to create a big eurozone market operator.

While on the other hand, The New York Stock Exchange said last Thursday that it would offer to buy Euronext with a mix of cash and stock, creating the first trans-Atlantic exchange and potentially isolating Deutsche Boerse, which had also sought a merger with Euronext.