NYSE, Euronext Creates First Trans-Atlantic Exchange

The NYSE Euronext merger took affect Wednesday, creating the first trans-Atlantic exchange. The new company is dual-listed in Paris and New York.

“When you are the leader, and we will be the leader … you have certainly a momentum, and on listings we will have a very diversified offer," said Marshall Carter, Deputy Chairman of NYSE Euronext to "Squawk Box Europe." "We are quite confident that the new company will be competitive," he added.

The New York Stock Exchange consummates its $11 billion takeover of Paris-based exchange operator Euronext NV at ceremonies in the U.S. and Europe. The combination into NYSE Euronext forms the world's biggest stock market, and ushers in a new era for financial markets where securities can be traded on two continents up to 12 hours a day, AP reported.

There has been concern among investors that U.S. trading regulations would be applied to European share trading, but Carter attempted to quell fears when speaking to “Squawk Box Europe.”

“You can be assured that there will be no regulatory over-spill at all.”

The merger will be a crowning achievement for John Thain, the former president of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. who became chief executive of the now 215-year-old NYSE in 2004.

Thain and NYSE Chairman Marshall Carter will be in Paris Wednesday morning to launch NYSE Euronext's first day of trading in Europe. They'll be joined by Euronext Chairman Jan-Michiel Hessels and Chief Executive Jean-Francois Theodore.

All four executives will then fly back to New York to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Thain will remain chief executive of the new exchange holding company, while Hessels becomes chairman.

The deal, announced last May, was overwhelmingly approved by Euronext shareholders in December and sailed through European regulators with relatively few problems. Euronext encompasses stock markets with headquarters in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Lisbon, as well as the London derivatives market LIFFE.

It gives the NYSE a competitive advantage over rival Nasdaq Stock Market Inc., which failed in its hostile attempt to buy the London Stock Exchange, according to AP.

Thain has mapped out plans for his next step once the integration of the NYSE and Euronext are completed. He wants to make further inroads in Asia, where the exchange already has an expanded partnership with the Tokyo Stock Exchange and owns a stake in India's National Stock Market, said AP.

Asked about if NYSE Euronext will soon be looking for more acquisition, Thain has said it first must complete the integration process. There has been speculation NYSE Group president Catherine Kinney will move to Paris to ensure that the integration of the two companies goes smoothly, according to AP.

NYSE expects to create cost savings of $375 million, with some $250 million of that from integrating their technology platforms. The NYSE last year rolled out a hybrid trading system that combines floor specialists with electronic trading; Euronext has no floor traders, AP said.