DEUTSCHE Börse shares rose 1% yesterday after NYSE Euronext said it would stick to a deal with the German exchange, snubbing a rival US offer and lessening the chances of a bidding war.

On Sunday, NYSE Euronext's board of directors unanimously rejected the rival $11,3bn offer from Nasdaq OMX Group and IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), saying it was too risky and counter to the Big Board's vision.

"NYSE's rejection of a rival offer is very positive, given that a failure of the merger with NYSE Euronext would have left Deutsche Börse internationally isolated," Heino Ruland of Ruland Research said.

Christian Muschick at Silvia Quandt research said this raised the odds of a successful NYSE Euronext Deutsche Börse merger, but Nasdaq ICE might now approach shareholders directly and go hostile.

NYSE Euronext on Sunday affirmed its $9,67bn agreement with Frankfurt-based Deutsche Börse, saying it would create more value and had greater odds of winning regulatory approval.

Deutsche Börse welcomed the news, saying: "NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse will create compelling value for shareholders."

NYSE Euronext CE Duncan Niederauer said Nasdaq's unsolicited bid would unacceptably carve up the transatlantic exchange operator.

Nasdaq OMX Group said it would take its unsolicited bid directly to shareholders after the directors' decision. CEO Robert Greifeld said his joint bid had elicited a "very positive" reaction from shareholders.

Failing to win endorsement from directors including NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer means Mr Greifeld must persuade shareholders that his offer, valued at 17% more than Deutsche Börse's, is superior. More than $20bn of proposed acquisitions have been announced in the industry since September.

NYSE Euronext's five biggest shareholders - T Rowe Price, State Street, Vanguard Group, Legg Mason and Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn - control 20% of its outstanding stock. Reuters, Bloomberg