NYSE Euronext buys 20% stake in Qatar Exchange
QATAR. NYSE Euronext agreed to acquire a 20% stake in the Qatar Exchange for US$200 million as part of a deal with Qatar Holding, the Qatari firm said on Friday.
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will own the remaining shares in the Qatar Exchange, a successor to the existing Doha Securities Market, which will adopt the new name from 21 June, Qatar Holding said in a statement.
The binding agreement with NYSE Euronext, which was expected, paves the way for more growth in the Middle East by the transatlantic bourse, the partners said.
Andre Went, a senior executive from NYSE Euronext, will be appointed chief executive of Qatar Exchange.
"We seek to elevate the market from the local level to a regional level and then to an international level and open it up for products other than the current stocks being traded," Finance Minister Yussef Kamal said at a press conference. He did not specify which kind of products.
"We hope this partnership succeeds in improving the market's efficiency and international reputation to which we aspire."
YSE Euronext beat out the London Stock Exchange in June 2008 to win the Qatar deal. The company, the world's largest exchange operator by the size of its listings, said in February it planned to restructure the agreement. Originally, it was to pay US$250 million for a 25% stake.
Qatar Holding is the direct investment arm of the QIA, the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf emirate.
The Qatar exchange has had one initial public offering this year, a US$929 million sale by the Qatari unit of Vodafone Group (VOD.L), according to Thomson Reuters data. It has hosted only four this decade.
NYSE Euronext was created at the end of March 2007 after a long merger process and is the world's largest exchange group, owning the New York Stock Exchange, four stock markets in Europe and the London-based Liffe derivatives market.
http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=38156&t=1&c=34&cg=4&mset=1011
QATAR. NYSE Euronext agreed to acquire a 20% stake in the Qatar Exchange for US$200 million as part of a deal with Qatar Holding, the Qatari firm said on Friday.
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will own the remaining shares in the Qatar Exchange, a successor to the existing Doha Securities Market, which will adopt the new name from 21 June, Qatar Holding said in a statement.
The binding agreement with NYSE Euronext, which was expected, paves the way for more growth in the Middle East by the transatlantic bourse, the partners said.
Andre Went, a senior executive from NYSE Euronext, will be appointed chief executive of Qatar Exchange.
"We seek to elevate the market from the local level to a regional level and then to an international level and open it up for products other than the current stocks being traded," Finance Minister Yussef Kamal said at a press conference. He did not specify which kind of products.
"We hope this partnership succeeds in improving the market's efficiency and international reputation to which we aspire."
YSE Euronext beat out the London Stock Exchange in June 2008 to win the Qatar deal. The company, the world's largest exchange operator by the size of its listings, said in February it planned to restructure the agreement. Originally, it was to pay US$250 million for a 25% stake.
Qatar Holding is the direct investment arm of the QIA, the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf emirate.
The Qatar exchange has had one initial public offering this year, a US$929 million sale by the Qatari unit of Vodafone Group (VOD.L), according to Thomson Reuters data. It has hosted only four this decade.
NYSE Euronext was created at the end of March 2007 after a long merger process and is the world's largest exchange group, owning the New York Stock Exchange, four stock markets in Europe and the London-based Liffe derivatives market.
http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=38156&t=1&c=34&cg=4&mset=1011