European Union regulators have blocked the merger of exchange operators Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext to avoid giving them a stranglehold on the European futures market.
Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext, which unveiled the plan to create the world's biggest stock exchange as long ago as February last year, said they would now unwind the deal, the sector's fourth failed tie-up attempt in a year.
The European Commission said on Wednesday that the combined entity would make it hard for new players to compete.
Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext had refused to sell either the German operator's Eurex derivatives market operator or the U.S. company's London-based futures exchange Liffe to address such concerns.
Deutsche Boerse said it was positive about the outlook for this year despite the failed deal.
The Hessian economics ministry, Deutsche Boerse's home regulator in Wiesbaden, Germany, had said on Tuesday that the exchanges had not eased its legal concerns over the deal. The ministry was planning to issue a decision after the Commission's ruling.
U.S. regulators approved the merger in December last year on condition the exchanges sell a minor asset.
In the past year, the sector has seen three other large deals fail.
Nasdaq and IntercontinentalExchange Inc 's bid for NYSE Euronext was rejected by the U.S. Department of Justice, London Stock Exchange's takeover of TMX Group was rejected by shareholders of the Toronto Stock Exchange operator, and Singapore Exchange Ltd's bid for Australia's ASX Ltd was stopped by the Australian government.
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