Irish stock exchange changes systems as owner battles for Oslo bourse

Share trading on the Irish stock market moved on Monday on to its owner’s new system, at a time when the pan-European exchange operator has found itself in a battle to acquire the Oslo bourse.

Euronext, which acquired the Irish Stock Exchange from a group of Dublin stockbrokerages in a €158.8 million deal last March, confirmed in a statement that the 53 companies listed on the rebranded Euronext Dublin have transferred to its trading platform, Optiq. Euronext had to make a multimillion-euro payment to end the Irish exchange's long-standing use of Deutsche Boerse's Xetra system.

"Irish listed companies can now enjoy access to deeper and broader pools of international capital enhanced corporate services and visibility as part of this single pan-European order book alongside their European peers," said Daryl Byrne, chief executive of Euronext Dublin. "We look forward to continuing to work with our listed companies and the Irish ecosystem to unlock the growth and opportunities that participating in a single, pan-European exchange offers."

Increase offer

The switch comes as Euronext, which also runs exchanges in Paris, Amsterdam, Lisbon and Brussels, indicated on Monday that it may increase its offer for the Oslo bourse after US rival Nasdaq formally tabled a higher bid for the Norwegian entity. In December, Euronext offered to pay 145 Norwegian kroner per share, valuing the company at 6.24 billion kroner (€640 million).

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Nasdaq Nordic, which already controls the exchanges of Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, submitted an offer of 152 kroner per share on Monday for the Oslo exchange, having signalled its intention last week.

“Euronext will assess options to adjust its offer and will communicate when appropriate,” the Paris-listed company said in a statement.

Oslo is one of the few remaining independent markets in Europe following a wave of consolidation in the industry over the past two decades.