NYSE War Now Centers on Jobs as Schumer Weighs In

The bidding war over control of the New York Stock Exchange continues to heat up, with much of the focus on the impact each potential marriage would have on jobs.

Big Board parent NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) has rejected a pair of hostile takeover offers worth $11.2 billion from Nasdaq OMX Group (NASDAQ:NDAQ) and Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) amid concerns about the chances the deal would receive regulatory approval.

Instead, NYSE is sticking with its buyout agreement with Germany’s Deutsche Boerse that is worth just $9.8 billion.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said Monday he sent a letter to Nasdaq and ICE that said NYSE officials have privately told him a merger with them would result in between 1,000 and 1,100 U.S. job losses, including about 800 in the New York City area. Schumer, who has a large voice in many Wall Street matters, urged Nasdaq and ICE to provide their own best impact on job losses before pursuing the deal further.

“I am concerned with the potential impact a NASDAQ/ICE takeover of NYSE Euronext would have on jobs in the New York City area,” Schumer wrote. “This would be a major consideration in judging any potential transaction.”

The labor implications of either deal carry significant weight because NYSE’s charter requires it to take into account job losses in any deal. However, an NYSE spokesman told FOX Business’s Charlie Gasparino that the job-loss consideration doesn’t trump its fiduciary duty to shareholders.

Over the weekend, meanwhile, NYSE and Deutsche Boerse said they have discovered an additional 100 million euros, or about $145 million, of cost savings in their deal.

That led Nasdaq and ICE to say the new synergy estimate “appears not to be a matter of sharpening a pencil, but an unexpected shift in strategy.” Nasdaq and ICE have projected $740 million in cost synergies, compared with Deutsche Boerse’s new figure of $717.5 million.

Shares of NYSE Euronext declined 0.77% to $38.71, while Nasdaq lost 1.13% to $27.22 and ICE dropped 1.24% to $120.67.