[Info-vax] London Stock Exchange in merger talks with Deutsche Börse

[Phillip Helbig undress to reply]

In article <dj37cnFgscaU1 at mid.individual.net>, Roy Omond <roy at omond.net>
writes: 

> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35639157
> 
> Given that the Deutsche Börse is a big VMS user, I wonder what the 
> combined setup will use.
> 
> Phillip ?  Any rumours ?

Rumours are all over the press (so much so that I can guess what the URL 
above refers to without checking it).  We noticed it because, at lunch, 
we saw the price of DB stock jump.  (That of the LSE jumped even more.  
Usually, the price of the buyer drops when there are such rumours.  
There is an official statement by now.  It's being billed as a merger of 
equals, but according to market capitalization DB is somewhat larger and 
if it goes through DB stock owners will own the majority of the stock 
after the swap.  The idea is to have the board 50/50 immediately after 
the merger.

But it is still early.  Since I've been there, DB has bought (and sold) 
some smaller companies, and there have been various cooperations, but 
none of the merger ideas (NYSE, Euronext, LSE (10 years ago)) happened.  
NYSE probably would have but it was forbidden.

DB is still a big VMS user, although the newer systems are mostly linux.
Most of the old ones (not just VMS) are still there.  There is VSI 
support in some areas (for new Itanium, not x86---don't know if that 
will come, but never say never; the "migrate from VMS" (like fusion 
power, always several years ahead, and has been for decades) decision 
was made just before VSI came on the scene.  Interesting times.

Of course, the UK referendum will certainly have some role to play here.

As to technology---such decisions, I am guessing, would be made only 
after a successful merger.