NEW YORK: Nasdaq and IntercontinentalExchange on Monday withdrew their joint $11 billion bid for the parent of the New York Stock Exchange after the U.S. Department of Justice informed the companies that it would pursue a lawsuit to block the deal.
"NYSE and Nasdaq are iconic...they are fierce competitors," said Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General of the antitrust division of the Department of Justice, in a conference call. "If these two competitors had merged it would have effectively created a monopoly leading to higher prices, inferior service and less innovation."