Merger talks between Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) and NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) went live in August last year at the request of the German exchange's Chief Executive Reto Francioni, regulatory filings released on Thursday show. On August 2, 2010 senior management teams of Deutsche Boerse AG and NYSE Euronext met in New York "at the request of Mr. Francioni," to discuss the possibility of a transaction and "key next steps," an F-4 form filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows. Renewed impetus for the deal, which was signed on February 15 this year, came after sporadic contact between NYSE Euronext chief Duncan Niederauer and Francioni going back to the fall of 2008.
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