US technology stock market Nasdaq and IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) have topped an offer for NYSE Euronext from rival German powerhouse Deutsche Borse.
Nasdaq OMX Group and ICE said in a joint statement that they were offering $42.50 per share for all of NYSE Euronext in a combination of shares and cash.
Deutsche Borse and NYSE Euronext announced on February 15 that they would merge to create the world's biggest stock exchange.
The $42.50 per share offer values NYSE Euronext at $11.3 billion, which would make it some 19% more than the all-share deal offered by Deutsche Borse to give a 60-40 split.
If the bid is successful, NYSE Euronext will be broken up, with its derivatives business going to ICE while Nasdaq OMX will take its stock markets in New York, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon.
There has been intense speculation that Nasdaq OMX would organise a rival offer for NYSE Euronext as a wave of takeovers and mergers around the world reshapes the industry.
The Deutsche Borse bid had also sparked some complaints that a foreign company was taking over a key US market and iconic part of its financial system.
