Bovespa Says No BM&F Merger Talks (1)

Latin America’s two biggest exchanges – the Bovespa and the BM&F – are not discussing a merger, according to Bovespa CEO Gilberto Mifano. “There are no plans or proposals for anything yet,” Mifano tells LatinFinance, adding that the two sides have not held any talks recently. Bovespa and BM&F were recently rumored to be considering joining forces in the wake of successful IPOs. Prior to both exchanges’ demutualization, talk of a merger was also circulating, but the two ended up choosing to pursue shareholder restructurings and IPOs independently, says Mifano. If set up properly, a union between the two could make sense, notes Mifano, pointing to cases such as the Deutsche Bourse and exchanges in Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore, which integrated their various platforms successfully. The Bovespa went public October 24 via Goldman and Credit Suisse. The BM&F priced its offering November 28 via Morgan Stanley, Bradesco, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Itau BBA, Deutsche Bank and Citi.