Deutsche Börse unclear futures

The European Commission’s rejection of the combination of Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext in 2012 was one of the biggest merger stories of the year. The speculation this week that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) might have its own plans for the Frankfurt exchange raised the question of whether such a tie-up might also fall foul of European competition regulators. A CME-Deutsche Börse deal would almost certainly attract regulatory attention, but not for the same reasons that sank the NYSE deal last year.