Euronext eyes Irish Stock Exchange jobs shake-up

Euronext, a pan-European stock market operator, has signalled that its planned €158.8 million takeover of the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) will lead to a jobs shake-up in Dublin over the coming years.

The Amsterdam-based group, formed in 2000 from the merger of the French, Dutch and Belgian stock markets, is targeting €6 million of annual cost savings by the end 2020 from the ISE deal, which was confirmed on Thursday evening.

Most of this will be driven by moving the ISE’s trading system, currently run by German market operator Deutsche Boerse, on to Euronext’s own systems.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin on Thursday, Euronext chief executive Stephane Boujnah signalled that the ISE would see some of its current 135 roles moving to elsewhere in the group. However, he said that the Irish business, which is set to become Euronext's global hub for the listing of debt and funds, may also benefit from the creation of new positions.

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“There will probably be the creation of new jobs in fields and segments that are not covered today in the scope of the business of the Irish Stock Exchange, and some jobs will also disappear in things that can be done at group level in other places,” Mr Boujnah said.

Third type

“And there will also be a third type of job that will be created, maybe some central functions that may be better suited here in Dublin than any other places of the group.”

Mr Boujnah said it was not clear yet whether there would be a net reduction or creation of jobs in Dublin when the integration process was completed.

The market value of Euronext, which also operates in Portugal and the UK, has surged 4.8 per cent to €3.56 billion in Paris since The Irish Times first reported online on Wednesday afternoon that a deal was imminent between both companies.

Euronext runs the second largest stock market place in the EU, after the London Stock Exchange. The ISE generates about three-quarters of its revenue from the listing of debt and funds, two areas where it is a global leader.

While Rosine van Velzen, an analyst with Dutch banking group ING, said that while the Irish deal was small it was a “strategically attractive deal as Euronext could leverage ISE’s expertise in debt, funds and ETF [exchange traded funds] listings, providing additional growth opportunities”.

Well positioned

Ms van Velzen said the ISE was also “well positioned” to benefit from market opportunities post-Brexit as Ireland could entice UK-listed companies to take out a dual listing in Dublin.

Euronext plans to bring a number of its products to the Irish market following the completion of the deal, expected by the end of March. These include futures and options trading in agriculture commodities, aimed at helping Irish food producers and co-operatives manage price risk.

The group aims to launch additional financial derivatives products for investors to bet on the future price of Irish shares and stock indices.

Euronext eyes Brexit dividend through Irish Stock Exchange deal: Agenda – page7