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Euronext eyes LSE bid
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September 22, 2000: 11:00 a.m. ET
New merged bourse in position to consolidate, forms global plans with NYSE
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Euronext, the European stock exchange formed from the merger of markets in Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam, said Friday it would play a lead role in the consolidation of the continent's bourses and was closely watching the London Stock Exchange's defense against a hostile bid.
"We are a consolidator," Euronext Chairman Jean-Francois Theodore told CNNfn. "The London Stock Exchange is a very, very important exchange in Europe. It's the first brand name, and we're watching the offer for the time being."
Speaking at the launch of the new Euronext exchange in Brussels, Theodore said he couldn't say anything more detailed because of the U.K. Takeover Panel's rules.
London last week abandoned a merger with Deutsche Boerse, operator of the Frankfurt exchange, to defend itself from a hostile $1.2 billion bid from Sweden's OM Gruppen. OM is the operator of the Stockholm bourse.
The LSE on Monday is due to publish its defense in response to the audacious Swedish takeover bid. The end of talks with the Deutsche Boerse has led to an open season on LSE.
The Euronext merger forms a market with $2.4 trillion of traded stocks by market value, making it the world's fifth-largest stock exchange. Based on transaction volume, Theodore said Euronext was Europe's largest stock market.
Richard Grasso, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, in a video broadcast from New York, called Euronext a "great step forward for investors" in Europe, as well as for markets around the world.
He added that Euronext was "a standard for others around Europe and around the world to follow." Grasso also said that the NYSE and Euronext were continuing to work towards the creation of a global equity market. 
--from staff and wire reports
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