The Dutch government said today it had no objections to Euronext's planned $14 billion merger with The New York Stock Exchange.
Euronext committed to merge with the NYSE in June 2006, rebuffing a rival offer from Deutsche Boerse.
The deal was conceived to consolidate the industry, cut costs and increase execution speed but initially incurred the wrath of some shareholders and top European politicians who favoured a pan-European combination.
A statement from the Dutch finance ministry said the two exchanges could begin the formal merger, which was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders in December.
The Dutch Finance Ministry indicated last December that it was leaning toward approval of the merger.
As Euronext is legally based in The Netherlands, it needed approval from Dutch authorities for a third party to buy a stake in the company.
Shares of Euronext were up 0.8 per cent at €94.30 earlier this morning.
