With a projected valuation of as much as $100 billion, Facebooks imminent IPO may portend great things for social media. But many planners feel less bullish about its prospects for delivering investment returns.
Antitrust regulators in Europe stopped the merger of Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext on Wednesday, saying the combined group would have a stranglehold on the listed European futures market and would thwart new entrants.
NYSE Euronext said it would focus on its standalone strategy, while Deutsche Boerse declared this a black day after the European Commission prohibited the merger of the two exchange operators.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has joined the U.S. Department of Justice in approving the merger of NYSE Euronext with Deutsche Boerse. The remaining hurdle: the EC.
Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext said they have decided to push back the deadline for completing their merger until March 31.
Morgan Keegan Advisers Eye Uncertain Future As Acquisition Talks Continue
At Deadline
Mergers and acquisitions, the new role o fprincipal financial officers and more hands-on boards are raising the stakes at asset management firms.
State Street is said to be eyeing the asset management division of the Bank of Ireland in order to compete with Barclays iShares.
As sentiment among wealth managers shifts, more capital has become available and companies right-size, banks, trust companies, wealth managers, and bank brokerages that are in a strong position to expand into a new market and acquire new units, will do so. But it is also the moment when companies without the capital-and stability-will get left behind. "If you can be bold, you can make acquisitions now," said Alois Pirker, research director at Aite Group. "If you're weak to start out, it will be hard to expand."