NYSE to buy 25% DSM stake

Transatlantic financial market operator NYSE Euronext said on Tuesday that it had agreed to buy 25 per cent of the Doha Securities Market (DSM) for $250 million (Dh918m). "The state of Qatar and NYSE Euronext on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership, which will transform the Doha Securities Market into a significant international player in the global exchange space and provide NYSE Euronext with a valuable presence in the Middle East," said an official statement. The State of Qatar will retain ownership of the remaining 75 per cent of the DSM through the Qatar Investment Authority. The transaction, although still subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed in the early part of the fourth quarter of 2008. As part of the agreement – designed to provide Doha with a new cash and derivatives exchange with access to the equity and technology mechanisms of global markets – NYSE Euronext will receive three of the 11 seats on DSM’s board of directors. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, said: “[This is] a significant endorsement of Qatar’s importance in the world’s capital markets and will provide considerable opportunities for our future generations." Duncan Niederauer, Chief Executive Officer of NYSE Euronext, said: “This exciting opportunity… complements our strategic business goals and benefits our shareholders.” The Doha Securities Market (DSM) started trading in May 1997. Since then it has grown to reach a market capitalisation of QR18.8 billion (Dh19bn) in 2000 and grown again to reach a current figure of QR500 billion. It has 43 listed companies. As of April 30 NYSE Euronext's nearly 4,000 listed companies represent a combined $30.9trillion in total global market capitalisation while their equity exchanges represent an average daily trading value of approximately $161 billion, which represents more than one-third of the worlds cash equities trading. NYSE Euronext is part of the S&P 500 index and the only exchange operator in the S&P 100 index.