Prime Minister of Denmark Lars Rasmussen bangs the gavel with NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer at the New York Stock Exchange
Prime Minister of Denmark Lars Rasmussen bangs the gavel with NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer at the New York Stock Exchange Reuters

The New York Stock Exchange (which also owns Euronext) and Germany’s Deutsche Borse have said they are in advanced talks to merge in a transaction that would result in the biggest stock exchange in the world valued at $24-billion.

Share trading in both Frankfurt and New York were temporarily suspended today before a joint statement was issued in both cities.

In light of recent market rumors, Deutsche Borse AG and NYSE Euronext (NYX) today confirmed that they are in advanced discussions regarding a potential business combination, the statement said.

The announcement comes just after the London Stock Exchange said it would likely merge with Toronto’s TMX bourse.

Deutsche Börse has a market value of $15.3-billion, almost double the $8.7-billion market value of NYSE Euronext.

Bernecker Börsenbriefe, a German magazine, reported that the exchanges sought to merge due to large cost synergies.

London stock exchange Nyse NYSE Euronext Germany