Nyse Euronext and IntercontinentalExchange have postponed the closing date of their pending merger transaction as they await approval from European regulators.
Ice agreed to buy Nyse Euronext in December in a mega-merger valued at EUR$8 billion.
The deal was expected to close Monday, but has now been postponed to "a later date to be announced" to allow additional time for relevant European regulators and ministries to process and issue their approvals.
The transaction has already received tacit approval from Euronext's individual national regulators who have told the exchange bodies that they are "not minded to object" to ICE's proposed acquisition.
ICE and NYSE Euronext say they expect to receive outstanding regulatory approval within the coming days and that they will proceed with the closing within two business days after receipt of the final documentation.
In a statement, the companies say: "Neither ICE nor Nyse Euronext anticipates any substantive issues being raised in the context of these remaining European national approvals."
A previously agreed deal between Nyse Euronext and Deutsche Bourse was blown out of the water by European regulatory bodies over competition issues, although the agreement with ICE was expected to receive a smoother passage.