NYSE Euronext may not be able to directly boost the value of its proposed deal with Deutsche Bourse. But it tried to indirectly do so by boosting the expected cost savings. NYSE CEO Duncan Niederauer told the Financial Times he now believes the companies will be able to wring out "closer to" $582.4 million in cost savings, compared with the $436 million stated with the original deal. That would bring the projected cost savings up to the same level touted by the Nasdaq and IntercontinentalExchange as part of their offer.

Needless to say, the Nasdaq and ICE ridiculed the news. "NYSE Euronext investors should be highly skeptical that after two years of exploratory merger discussions, including more than six months dedicated to finalizing the transaction, NYSE Euronext has suddenly found a reported €100 million in additional synergies," the companies said in a statement. "This increase appears not to be a matter of sharpening a pencil, but an unexplained shift in strategy. The discovery that initial synergies having been understated by one-third comes after receiving a superior proposal from NASDAQ OMX and ICE that achieves greater synergies."

We may hear more about this from the NYSE Euronext at their annual meeting this week. A shareholder vote is apparently scheduled for July 7. The lobbying of shareholders will likely get pretty intense between now and then.

For more:
- here's the FT article

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