ISS, a global proxy advisory firm, recommended that Euronext shareholders vote in favor of the pan-European exchange's planned merger with New York Stock Exchange NYSE Group, Euronext said on Wednesday.
Euronext, which operates the Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon bourses and London's Euronext.Liffe derivatives exchange, is due to hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in Amsterdam on December 19 to adopt the $13 billion tie-up plan.
"Based on the strategic rationale presented by the company and a very positive market reaction, we recommend that shareholders vote for this merger proposal," ISS said, according to a Euronext statement.
The full ISS statement did not feature on the ISS website. Contacted by Reuters, ISS said it only released recommendations to its customers.
With the exception of The Childen's Investment Fund (TCI), which owns around 10 percent of Euronext, many stakeholders in the pan-European exchange gave the greenlight to the deal, even if some expressed concerns about the valuation of the deal or regulatory risks.
Euronext and NYSE have proposed to put their European operations under the management of a Dutch foundation to keep them beyond U.S. regulators' jurisdiction, and on Tuesday the groups won endorsement for their merger from European regulators.