NEW YORK (AP) – NYSE Group Inc. agreed Thursday to acquire Euronext NV for about $10 billion in cash and stock, creating the first trans-Atlantic securities market in a deal that would pressure rival exchanges to consolidate.

The New York Stock Exchange trumped a competing bid by Deutsche Boerse AG to acquire Paris-based Euronext, which operates bourses in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon. Once combined, the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext will handle about $2.1 trillion in stock trades each month and have a market value of $20 billion.

The acquisition ushers in a new era for financial markets, one in which investors can trade stocks, options, futures, commodities and corporate bonds on two continents up to 12 hours a day.

NYSE’s move also ups the ante for rival exchanges – chiefly the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. and Deutsche Boerse – to assemble their own deals to avoid being left behind in global consolidation.

“This is an important development in the history of the NYSE, Euronext and the global capital markets,” NYSE Chief Executive John Thain said in a statement.

“A partnership with Euronext fulfills our shared vision of building a truly global marketplace with great breadth of product and geographic reach that will benefit all investors, issuers, and our shareholders and stakeholders.”



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