Success and Failure in Stock Exchange Consolidations: Implications for Markets and Their Regulation
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www.cifr.edu SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN STOCK EXCHANGE CONSOLIDATIONS: IMPLICATIONS FOR MARKETS AND THEIR REGULATION CALLY JORDAN* Working Paper: January 12, 2016 *Associate Professor, Melbourne Law School (Australia); Visiting Estey Chair in Business Law, College of Law, University of Saskatchewan (Canada); Research Fellow, C.D.Howe Institute (Toronto); Member, European Corporate Governance Institute; Centre for Transnational Legal Studies (London, UK) Acknowledgements 1 The author would like to acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the Centre for International Finance and Regulation (Sydney, Australia), as well as their patience over the course of preparation of this working paper. In particular, Evelyn Mike demonstrated great patience and support throughout the preparation of the study. In the early stages of the project, research assistance was ably provided by Brendan Donohue and Sahil Sondhi, both students at Melbourne Law School at the time, and Marco Garofalo and John Zelenbaba at the Faculty of Law at McGill University (Montreal, Canada). This research was put to good use in four chapters of my book, International Capital Markets: Law and Institutions (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014): The United Kingdom: Gentlemanly Capitalism and the International Markets (ch.6); Niche Markets and Their Lessons (ch. 9); Stock Exchanges -- An Endangered Species (ch. 10); and Intermediaries – From Handmaiden to New Market (ch. 11). Robin Gardner and her Library Research Services team at Melbourne Law School (Cate Read, Louise Ellis and Joseph Huntley) provided great support, particularly in the preparation of the extensive bibliography and case studies which form part of this working paper. In finalising the study, several students at Melbourne Law School and the Faculty of Law, McGill University made invaluable contributions: Luca Del Ciotto (NASDAQ), Adrien Faelli (Euronext after the merger), Timothy Garvey (TSX-LSE-Maple), Dan Lu (HKEx,-SSE- SSZE), James Sainty (London), Deborah Staines (SGX-ASX), and James Szauer (Euronext prior to the merger). Mike Crampton and Chris Harris at the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan were there at the very end, making sure the manuscript made sense. In addition to researching the groundbreaking NYSE-Euronext merger, Nathan Qun Wai Ma, Melbourne Law School, assumed the role of primary coordinator. Nathan through his diligence and persistence is responsible for keeping the project on track and moving to its conclusion. The usual disclaimers apply. 2 Content INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 6 I BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................................................... 7 II BASICS OF AN EXCHANGE ................................................................................................................................ 13 III FORMATIVE FORCES AND THE MODERN EXCHANGE ....................................................................................... 14 A Demutualisation ....................................................................................................................................... 14 B Technology and Globalisation ................................................................................................................. 20 C The Courting Game: Exchange Consolidations ....................................................................................... 23 Part A The Big Deal- NYSE-Euronext .......................................................... 27 A.1 EURONEXT – MADE IN EUROPE........................................................................................................... 28 I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 28 II THE EVOLVING EUROPEAN MARKET ........................................................................................................ 28 III THE ORGANISATION AND GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE OF EURONEXT NV ................................................ 35 IV THE REACTION OF CONSTITUENT MARKETS TO THE EURONEXT MERGER .............................................. 44 V CONCLUDING REMARKS ........................................................................................................................... 49 A.2 BIG DEAL – NYSE EURONEXT ............................................................................................................... 51 I THE BIG DEAL – AND WHY IT HAPPENED .................................................................................................. 51 II NYSE Euronext ........................................................................................................................................ 52 III AN OVERVIEW OF THE MERGED NYSE EURONEXT GROUP ..................................................................... 64 IV A REGULATORY DILEMMA AND ITS CRITICS ........................................................................................... 68 V THE FAILURE OF NYSE EURONEXT .......................................................................................................... 70 A.3 THE ICEMAN COMETH – THE BIG DEAL FALLS APART.................................................................... 74 I ICE NYSE EURONEXT ............................................................................................................................... 74 II WHY ICE WANTED TO MERGE WITH NYSE EURONEXT? ......................................................................... 75 III WHAT ICE HAD TO OFFER....................................................................................................................... 77 IV THE MERGER ........................................................................................................................................... 78 V POST-MERGER .......................................................................................................................................... 82 A.4 EURONEXT AFTER THE BIG DEAL ....................................................................................................... 83 I THE SALE .................................................................................................................................................... 83 II THE NEW EURONEXT ................................................................................................................................ 84 III PERSPECTIVE: EURONEXT AND THE TREND TOWARD CONSOLIDATION OF STOCK EXCHANGES .............. 87 V CHI-X: A FIRST IN EUROPE ....................................................................................................................... 93 Part B London – Prey and Predator ................................................................ 95 B.1 LONDON – PLAYING HARD TO GET ..................................................................................................... 96 I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 96 II CONTEXT: LEAD UP TO THE 21ST CENTURY ............................................................................................... 98 III POLICY OF INDEPENDENCE .................................................................................................................... 103 IV FROM THE HUNTED TO THE HUNTER ..................................................................................................... 112 V CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 118 B.2 TORONTO – KEEPING IT CANADIAN ................................................................................................. 120 I INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 120 II THE FACTS .............................................................................................................................................. 120 III SECURITIES REGULATION ISSUES ........................................................................................................... 137 IV COMPETITION CONCERNS ...................................................................................................................... 140 3 V POLITICAL PROBLEMS ............................................................................................................................. 143 VI CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 146 Part C NASDAQ – Big Player, Bit Player ................................................... 148 I INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 148 II THE OLD STORY: CONSOLIDATION THROUGH ACQUISITION ........................................................................... 149 A Success and Failure: Nasdaq’s Merger attempts ................................................................................... 149 III NEW DIRECTIONS: GROWTH THROUGH PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION ............................................................. 157 IV CONTINUED EMPHASIS: TECHNOLOGY ........................................................................................................