NYSE Euronext buying NYFIX in $144 million deal

NYSE Euronext buying NYFIX in $144 million all-cash deal with nearly 95 percent premium

• On 12:39 pm EDT, Thursday August 27, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) -- NYSE Euronext said Thursday it will buy NYFIX Inc. in a $144 million all-cash transaction to bolster the trans-Atlantic stock exchange operator's trading technology.

NYSE Euronext said its wholly owned subsidiary, NYSE Technologies Inc., will acquire New York-based NYFIX at a price of $1.675 per share. The price represents roughly a 95 percent premium over Wednesday's 86 cents-per-share closing price for NYFIX's stock.

Shares of NYFIX rose 78 cents, or 90.7 percent, to $1.64 in midday trading. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of 40 cents to $3.75.

The board of NYSE Euronext, NYSE Technologies and NYFIX approved a deal that is subject to NYFIX shareholder approval as well as regulatory reviews. NYSE Euronext said the transaction is expected to close in this year's fourth quarter, and add to its earnings starting next year, excluding one-time charges and restructuring costs.

The $144 million value for the deal includes the acquisition of preferred shares.

The deal will give NYSE Euronext NYFIX's FIX Software business and NYFIX Marketplace trading communications technology.

NYFIX CEO Howard Edelstein said his company's customers will "benefit greatly through the combination of two of the industry's leading trading communities, creating a global transaction marketplace connecting buy-side and sell-side, as well as from the strength of the NYSE Euronext platform and global brand."

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