Reuters' Instinet, Datek Held Talks, Person Says
New York, March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Reuters Group Plc and Datek Online Holdings Corp. recently held talks to merge, creating a dominant electronic trading system and speed Instinet's entry into the electronic brokerage industry, a person familiar with the situation said.
The talks have since ended, said the person.
Talks between Instinet, which controls 44 percent of electronic communications network trading volume, and closely held Datek, whose Island ECN controls 19.5 percent of ECN trading ``have derailed because of antitrust concerns,' the person said.
A combined Instinet and Datek could account for 64 percent of electronic Nasdaq trading, according to statistics on volume compiled by Chase/Hambrecht & Quist LLC.
A merger between the two companies would also help Instinet create its retail brokerage, which it said it would launch in April.
Spokesmen from Reuters and Datek declined to comment.
``A merger would obviously accelerate Instinet's entry into the online broker industry and help both companies dominate electronic trading,' said Russell Keene, an analyst at Putnam, Lovell, de Guardiola & Thornton.
Shares of Reuters American Depository receipts rose 2 1/4, to 147 3/8 in Nasdaq trading of 271,600 shares, about 1 1/2 times the three-month daily average.
Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, competes with Reuters to provide financial news and information.
Mar/03/2000 16:37 |
