Deutsche Börse won significant shareholder support for its $9 billion merger with NYSE Euronext, collecting over 80% of its outstanding shares in a tender offer.  Under German market rules, Deutsche Börse needed at least 75%.  With the success of the tender offer, Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext have cleared one of the biggest hurdles to their merger, which would create a new international stock market operator with big presences in stock, options and derivatives trading.

Regulatory Obstacle.   Now, the 2 exchanges must obtain regulatory approval - a lengthy process that's expected to run into 2012.  Both companies’ legal teams have been working closely with European antitrust officials, who are expected to closely scrutinize the deal because the merger would meld two of the Continent’s biggest derivatives platforms.

Both exchange companies had said that they expected investors to tender their holdings close to the deadline. Some shareholders had waited until NYSE Euronext shareholders approved the deal, which they did last week.    [DealBook, 7/14/11]