The project of a super European stock exchange capable of bringing together Milan, Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt is back on the scene. The hypothesis was relaunched by the CEO of Euronext, Stéphane Boujnah, who declared himself willing to evaluate an aggregation with Deutsche Börse after having ruled out, only four months ago, a merger in the short term.
This is the change of tone. On May 21, 2026, during a hearing in the Italian Parliament, Boujnah recognized the industrial logic of the operation, but considered it unlikely in the short term. In the interview published a few hours ago, however, he indicated the merger of the stock exchange activities as one of the operations that could make sense for Europe.
It does not mean that the agreement is already in preparation. There are no ongoing negotiations and Deutsche Börse has confirmed this. The reopening, however, immediately moved the market: Euronext gained around 2.1%, Deutsche Börse 2.9% and London Stock Exchange Group 3.8%, while most European stock markets lost ground.
For Italy the issue does not just concern the future of a listed company. Euronext controls the Italian Stock Exchange and some central infrastructures for the government bond market. The real question is therefore: in a much larger financial group, would Milan gain investors or lose decision-making power?
From the slowdown in May to the reopening in September
What is new is not the sudden appearance of a project that has never been discussed. Euronext and Deutsche Börse have already evaluated various forms of aggregation in the past. What has changed is the way in which the Euronext summit talks about it again today, as the European Union tries to reduce the fragmentation of its financial markets.
The sequence helps distinguish facts from expectations:
| Date and passage | What happened | What does it mean |
|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2026 | Boujnah rules out a merger in the short term | The industrial logic is recognized, but the project remains distant |
| September 14, 2026 | Euronext reopens to the possibility of an agreement | The tone changes, a negotiation has not yet arisen |
| Response from Deutsche Börse | The group confirms that no talks are underway | There are currently no offers, negotiations or agreements |
| Market reaction | Euronext, Deutsche Börse and Lseg rise | Investors see a possible new phase of consolidation |
| Next step | Official talks and an industrial project would be needed | Only then would it be possible to evaluate the structure and probability of the operation |
How big would the European super stock exchange be?
Euronext today operates eight regulated markets: Amsterdam, Athens, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris. Its activities do not stop at stock trading, but include bonds, derivatives, funds, financial data, clearing, custody and transaction settlement.
As the company itself explains in the official presentation of Euronext’s activities, the group now covers the entire capital markets chain, from the entry of a company onto the stock exchange to the completion of trades.
Deutsche Börse controls, however, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Xetra platform, the Eurex derivatives market and Clearstream, one of the main global operators in the custody and settlement of securities.
| Group | Approximate size | Strategic activities |
|---|---|---|
| Euronext | Around 16 billion euros | Eight stock exchanges, MTS, clearing, custody, data and bond markets |
| Deutsche Börse | Around 50 billion euros | Frankfurt, Xetra, Eurex, Clearstream and information services |
| Possible group | Over 60 billion euros | Stocks, bonds, derivatives, data and pan-European financial infrastructure |
Deutsche Börse would start from a financial size larger than that of Euronext. This imbalance would make the distribution of shares, the composition of the board of directors and the choice of operational headquarters central.
Because Borsa Italiana is the real thing at stake
Euronext bought Borsa Italiana from the London Stock Exchange in 2021 for 4.3 billion euros. With the operation, Milan has become one of the group’s main centers and an important source of revenues.
It’s not just the stock market that has entered the scope. The acquisition involved strategic infrastructures such as Mts, one of the main European platforms for trading government bonds, as well as clearing, custody and settlement activities.
Whoever controls these structures does not determine the price of shares or BTPs, but decides technological investments, organization of services, tariffs and industrial priorities. For this reason, the future of the Italian Stock Exchange also concerns the country’s ability to maintain a role in the infrastructures through which savings and public debt pass.
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti owns 8.1% of Euronext, the same share as the French Caisse des Dépôts. Intesa Sanpaolo, however, holds approximately 1.55%. A merger with Deutsche Börse could dilute the percentage weight of Italian shareholders, unless new investments or specific governance agreements are made.
The possible super stock exchange reopens an already existing game: is being a shareholder enough if you are unable to influence decisions?
What would change for savers and businesses
For those who own Italian shares there would be no automatic consequences. The securities would remain in the investor’s account and a corporate merger would not directly change taxation or shareholder rights.
The effects would emerge over time and depend on the choices of the new group:
| Subject | Possible advantage | Possible risk |
|---|---|---|
| Savers | More securities, integrated services and greater liquidity | More complex and more concentrated market |
| Listed companies | Access to more international investors | Less visibility for smaller Italian companies |
| SMEs | More opportunity to raise capital | Milan should compete with other centers to attract prices |
| Intermediaries | Common procedures and platforms | Reduction of margins and concentration of services |
| Italian system | European market more competitive than Wall Street | Less autonomy on decisions that concern Piazza Affari |
The most immediate benefit could be greater liquidity, i.e. the possibility of buying and selling a security more easily without causing strong fluctuations. Liquidity and capitalization are essential elements in the construction of indices, as recalled by the QuiFinanza Glossary dedicated to MIBtel.
For companies, the ability to reach new investors would count above all. An integrated European platform could make an initial public offering more attractive, but only if costs, rules and visibility remained favorable even for smaller companies.
Why Europe wants a bigger stock exchange
Europe has very high private savings, but a significant part of capital is invested in US markets.
A super exchange could reduce this fragmentation, offering a platform closer in size to the large American operators.
The project, however, would have to pass complex antitrust checks. In 2012 the European Commission blocked the merger between Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext. In 2017 he also stopped the project between Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange, fearing excessive concentration in some activities.
Today Brussels appears more willing to favor European champions, but France, Germany and Italy would ask for guarantees on their respective headquarters, on investments and on the distribution of power.
