US gives approval for $9bn NYSE deal

DEUTSCHE Boerse won US antitrust approval to buy NYSE Euronext in a $9 billion deal to create the world’s No 1 exchange operator, but the transaction still faces serious regulatory headwinds in Europe.

The Justice Department said the deal, which was announced in February, won US approval on condition that a Deutsche Boerse subsidiary, the International Securities Exchange, divest its 31.5% interest in Direct Edge.

There have been few critics of the deal in the US, despite the NYSE’s symbolism as a bastion of American capitalism. The exc-hange was founded in 1792 when share trading began on a block now designated as Wall Street.