Reuters alone with news, timing of Nasdaq/ICE`s plan to make hostile NYSE bid

Reuters exclusively reported on April 28 that Nasdaq and IntercontinentalExchange planned to soon go hostile in their $11 billion bid for NYSE Euronext. The news sent NYSE Euronext shares up 2 percent in heavy after-hours trading, and prompted an analyst to publish a research note detailing the exchange operators defensive options. Sources told Reuters that Nasdaqs board planned to meet within days to decide when to go straight to NYSE shareholders with a tender offer, since the NYSE board had opted to stick with a rival takeover offer from Deutsche Boerse. The news came after NYSE shareholders blasted management at an annual meeting for ignoring a higher offer from Nasdaq and ICE — a plot twist that Reuters predicted a day earlier with a poll of shareholders that found most wanted the Big Board to sit down and talk to Nasdaq and ICE. Dow Jones cited the Reuters story on the hostile move for several hours before the Wall Street Journal was able to match it, while Bloomberg didn`t catch up until the following day. Our poll also made waves, sending other media on the hunt for shareholder reaction and prompting Legg Mason to issue a statement saying that it too wanted NYSE to talk to Nasdaq and ICE.