Deutsche Boerse May Seek Asia Ventures, Euro am Sonntag Says

Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1) will try to gain a stronger foothold in Asia through joint ventures should a planned merger with NYSE Euronext (NRX) collapse, Euro am Sonntag said in an advance copy of an article in tomorrow’s edition, citing a Deutsche Boerse manager it didn’t identify.

The operator of the Frankfurt stock exchange would also seek to increase the range of its products, including agricultural commodities derivatives, the newspaper said. Deutsche Boerse would be under no pressure to look for a “Plan B” or seek alternative merger options, it said.

European antitrust regulators are likely to formally oppose the merger of NYSE Euronext (NRX) and Deutsche Boerse on Feb. 1, the newspaper said. Deutsche Boerse has spent between 100 million euros ($132 million) to 120 million euros on the deal, the newspaper said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rainer Buergin in Berlin at rbuergin1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net