Nasdaq OMX Group (NDAQ.O) was unbowed on Monday after NYSE Euronext's (NYX.N) board rejected its takeover offer in favor of a lower bid from Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE), while the German company looked set to stand pat as the battle for the Big Board intensified. Nasdaq and partner IntercontinentalExchange Inc (ICE.N) are not about to walk away from their $11.3 billion unsolicited offer, and they are working behind the scenes to persuade NYSE shareholders to pressure the exchange's directors, according to people familiar with the matter. Deutsche Boerse, which in February struck a $10 billion friendly deal to acquire NYSE Euronext, has no plans to raise its offer, two other sources said. On Sunday, NYSE's board rejected the Nasdaq-ICE bid as "strategically unattractive, with unacceptable execution risk." The maneuvering points to a lengthy, public, and likely bitter fight for the parent company of the venerable New York Stock Exchange, which also runs stock and futures markets across Europe.
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