There's been a steady drumbeat of claims coming out of New York and Frankfurtthat the proposed deal between the NYSE and Deutsche Borse is a "merger of equals." Former NYSE chief Dick Grasson repeated the claim recently:
I don’t look at this as a Deutsche Börse takeover of the New York Stock Exchange. I look at it as a consolidation or combination of two brands that will enormously complement one another in terms of the product mix.
Bullsh*t. This is a merger of equals in the same way that Daimler's acquisition of Chrysler or Germany's acquisition of Poland was a merger of equals. It's a takeover, pure and simple. Deutsche Borse's current shareholders (admittedly a globally diverse lot) will end up holding a majority of the stock and DB will control a majority of the board of directors.
I'm not saying a takeover's a bad thing (well, except for wars and such). To the contrary, M&A deals often add social value. I'm just saying we ought to call a spade a spade.
