Shareholders urge NYSE to cons

By FRANCESCA LEVY AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Top executives of NYSE Euronext Inc., parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, deflected angry questions about its rejection of a rival takeover bid at the company's annual shareholder meeting.

Last week NYSE Euronext's board again turned down an unsolicited $11.3 billion bid from Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. that would carve the company in half. NYSE Euronext says it favors a deal it already has in place to combine with Deutsche Boerse, owner of the Frankfurt stock exchange.

Jan-Michiel Hessels, the chairman of NYSE Euronext, told shareholders Thursday that the Nasdaq bid was "fraught with unacceptable risk" and would not clear regulatory hurdles. Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange are the two main stock exchange operators in the U.S.