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After snubbing him, Nasdaq is now hoping to enlist the support of Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in its takeover battle for the New York Stock Exchange, The Post has learned.
Nasdaq OMX and its partner, Intercontinen-
talExchange, believe that Schumer, who has already weighed in on the stock brawl, could play a role in getting NYSE Euronext to open its books to the rival US bidders.
Nasdaq’s planned pitch comes after Schumer, who has weighed in on the takeover war, blasted it for not responding to his request more than three weeks ago for details on how the proposed combination would impact New Yorkers.
Nasdaq is expected to argue that it cannot provide Schumer with accurate information about the merger, including potential jobs losses, unless it gets detailed financial information from NYSE.
Nasdaq CEO Bob Greifeld is likely to reach out to Schumer directly via phone as early as this week, according to a source. His pitch will be that Nasdaq-ICE’s $11.3 billion bid is in the best interests of the Big Apple because it will promote the city’s stature as the “financial capital of the world,” the source said.
At this point, Nasdaq is fighting an uphill battle. According to NYSE estimates, a merger with rival Nasdaq could lead to as many as 800 job cuts in New York City alone, and as many as 1,100 in total. In contrast, NYSE argues that a merger with Germany’s Deutsche Boerse would result in no more than 100 job losses.
The already pitched exchange battle is heating up ahead of NYSE’s shareholder meeting set for Thursday.
NYSE has turned down a Nasdaq-ICE offer on the grounds that it would not be in the best interests of shareholders because it won’t create a global exchange and might not pass muster with regulators in the US.
Yesterday, Nasdaq officials were quietly optimistic that its merger proposal was gaining traction with US regulators after the Justice Department said that it wanted more information about its bid for NYSE, according to a regulatory filing. mark.decambre@nypost.com