Euronext, Deutsche Boerse Shares Rise After CEO's Merger Comments

By Joe Stonor

Shares in European stock exchange groups rose after the chief executive of Euronext said he was open to a deal with German rival Deutsche Boerse.

Euronext shares rose by 2.2% to 161.70 euros while Deutsche Boerse shares jumped 3.3% to 285.30 euros in midday trading in Europe.

Euronext Chief Executive Stephane Boujnah told the Financial Times in an interview that a tie-up between the two groups' stock exchange business would make sense, and didn't rule out a full-scale merger of the groups.

Bourses on the continent are hurrying to increase their competitiveness in an increasingly U.S.-dominated market. Combining Euronext and Deutsche Boerse would create "a pan-European market infrastructure which has a planetary scale," Boujnah said.

Euronext owns and operates exchanges in eight European countries, including bourses in France, the Netherlands and Italy. Deutsche Boerse owns Germany's primary national stock exchange in Frankfurt.

European antitrust regulations would pose a challenge to any merger, and Boujnah said there are no talks between the companies currently in progress.

In 2012, the European Union blocked a mooted $17 billion merger of Deutsche Boerse and Euronext--then known as NYSE Euronext thanks to a previous transatlantic merger--for competition reasons. Regulators also blocked a planned $30 billion merger between the London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Boerse in 2017.

Deutsche Boerse told the FT that "there are no conversations between us and Euronext on a possible merger." The exchange didn't immediately respond to a further request for comment.

Write to Joe Stonor at josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 14, 2026 07:05 ET (11:05 GMT)