NYSE Group Inc. and Euronext N.V. today announced that NYSE Euronext Inc. will commence an exchange offer today for all of the outstanding shares of Euronext.

The offer will close on March 21, and the settlement and delivery of the offer, and the listing of the NYSE Euronext shares on Euronext Paris and on NYSE, is expected to take place on April 4.

Euronext shareholders will receive 21.32 euros in cash and 0.98 of a share of NYSE Euronext common stock for each Euronext share. They may also opt for either 1.2633 NYSE Euronext shares, or 95.07 euros in cash.

The offer comes following news that the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved rule changes related to the proposed combination, enabling the businesses of NYSE Group and Euronext to be wholly-owned subsidiaries of a new publicly traded holding company, NYSE Euronext. NYSE Group and Euronext would each be a separate subsidiary of NYSE Euronext, and their respective businesses and assets will continue to be held as they are currently held.

The business combination would be a cross-border transaction that fits within the framework the commission has developed in connection with other transactions involving self-regulatory organizations, it said. It would maintain the New York Stock Exchange’s and NYSE Arca’s ability to each meet obligations as self-regulatory organizations and continue to provide the commission with tools necessary to effectively oversee these self-regulatory organizations.

SEC chairman Christopher Cox said, “Our capital markets and our trading markets have long been global, but this pending combination is a sign that the trend is accelerating. The SEC and the Euronext College of Regulators, based on extensive collaboration and consultation, are well prepared to undertake the cross-border regulatory responsibilities to which this combination will give rise.”

“We are committed to bringing these two great businesses together to form the world’s first truly global financial marketplace group,” said Marshall Carter, chairman, NYSE Group. “Together, we will strengthen our leadership position and better serve our customers in our home markets and throughout the world. On behalf of my colleagues on the NYSE Group board of directors, I want to thank the NYSE Group and Euronext shareholders for their overwhelming support of this transaction and look forward to serving their interests as a combined company.”

“The Euronext supervisory board has recommended that shareholders tender their shares in the exchange offer because it considers that the offer is fair to our shareholders, and that the combination of Euronext and NYSE Group will create significant cost savings and revenue synergies, allowing us to preserve Euronext’s successful federal business model, while bringing additional business advantages for our users,” said Jan-Michiel Hessels, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Euronext.