After a Nasdaq bid for the NYSE was rejected by the NYSE board, Mark Alexander, a Hartford, Connecticut-based attorney who focuses on antitrust issues at Axinn, spoke with Bloomberg News about Nasdaq CEO Robert Greifeld’s next move to win NYSE holders’ approval despite antitrust concerns.  Deutsche Boerse may have an easier time addressing competition concerns than Nasdaq OMX-ICE, said Mark.  With Deutsche Boerse, the antitrust issues are manageable because even if regulators can’t be satisfied that whatever issues there are won’t limit competition, you can divest a business.  With Nasdaq/NYSE, the antitrust risk is the deal.  It appears to be a pretty significant problem and there’s no way to fix it.  You can’t sell assets peripheral to the deal, while with Deutsche Boerse the main value of the transaction can still be realized.

The article, entitled, “Nasdaq CEO Greifeld Needs NYSE Holders to Embrace Bid That Board Rejected,” was published by Bloomberg News on April 11, 2011.