Schumer Seeks Answers On Potential Job Losses From NYSE Deal (NYX, ICE)

SCHUMER TO NASDAQ, ICE ICE: BEFORE MAKING MORE BIDS FOR NYSE,PROVIDE ANSWERS ON POTENTIAL JOB LOSSES FROM DEAL Senator Says Job Impact is ‘Major Consideration' in Judging NASDAQ-ICE Bid To Buy Big Board NYSE NYX Has Provided Schumer With Estimate That Deal Could Cause Up to 1100 U.S. Job Losses, Including 800 In NYC In Letter to Heads Of NASDAQ and ICE, Schumer Seeks Details on How Proposed Takeover Would Create Promised ‘Cost Synergies' Without Slashing Jobs Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer D-NY urged NASDAQ OMX Group and IntercontinentalExchange, Inc., to provide answers about potential job losses that could result from the two companies' proposed purchase of NYSE Euronext. “I am concerned with the potential impact a NASDAQ/ICE takeover of NYSE Euronext would have on jobs in the New York City area. This would be a major consideration in judging any potential transaction,” Schumer wrote in a letter to NASDAQ CEO Robert Greifeld and ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher. NASDAQ and ICE have been jointly bidding to lure the Big Board away from its announced merger with Deutsche Borse. Even though NYSE has rejected two offers by the companies-including an $11billion bid last week-NASDAQ and ICE have continued their pursuit. Industry analysts have cautioned that, while the respective strengths of NYSE and Deutsche Borse might make for a complementary pairing, combining NYSE with NASDAQ and ICE could create significant overlap in the merged entity. NASDAQ and ICE officials have themselves stressed the possible “cost synergies” of a combined company as a selling point of their bid. In a letter to the heads of NASDAQ and ICE, however, Schumer expressed worry that these “synergies” would ultimately entail job losses. He said that NYSE officials have privately told him that a merger with NASDAQ and ICE would result in between 1000- 1100 U.S. job losses, including roughly 800 in the New York City area. He asked NASDAQ and ICE to provide their own best estimate of the jobs impact of any deal, prior to pursuing the deal further. A copy of Schumer's letter to Greifeld and Sprecher appears below. Dear Mr. Greifeld and Mr. Sprecher, I write you today regarding an area of critical importance to me with respect to your ongoing efforts to acquire NYSE Euronext. As we previously discussed, I am concerned with the potential impact a NASDAQ/ICE takeover of NYSE Euronext would have on jobs in and around New York City. This would be a major consideration in judging any potential transaction. I understand that the NYSE Euronext board of directors has once again reaffirmed its support for the Deutsche Börse transaction, but I also understand that NASDAQ and ICE may further revise their proposal or take it directly to NYSE Euronext's stockholders. Accordingly, I wanted to follow up on our previous conversation, during which I requested your best estimates of expected job losses in the New York City area that would result from a NASDAQ/ICE takeover of NYSE Euronext. By your own account, the business rationale for a NASDAQ/ICE transaction appears predicated largely on over $700 million in so-called “cost synergies”. That almost certainly means significant job losses. At my request, NYSE Euronext estimated that the NASDAQ/ICE proposal, if effectuated, would result in the loss of 1,000-1,100 U.S. jobs, including approximately 800 in the New York City area. Prior to taking additional steps in your acquisition efforts, please provide me with your best estimate of how many jobs would be lost in the New York City area in the event of a NASDAQ/NYSE combination, and an explanation for how the claimed cost synergies would be achieved in light of your estimated level of job losses. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to discuss this further. Sincerely, Charles E. Schumer United States Senator