Deutsche Boerse's supervisory board is reluctant to approve quickly an extension of Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter's contract following the German exchange operator's failed merger with the London Stock Exchange, two people close to the matter said.

The EC yesterday formally blocked the proposed merger between London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Boerse AG-Tender. This was expected. The EC is expected to publish a more detailed decision at a later date. London Stock Exchange Group also announced a £200 million buyback program.

CBOE Holdings Inc. and Bats Global Markets Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement, which has been approved by the Board of Directors of each company by unanimous votes of the members of the boards present, under which CBOE Holdings has agreed to acquire Bats in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $32.50 per Bats share, or a total of approximately $3.2 billion, consisting of 31% cash and 69% CBOE Holdings stock, based on CBOE Holdings’ closing stock price of $70.30 per share on Sept. 23, 2016.

HTG Capital Partners and Kottke Associates announced today that they have reached a definitive agreement providing for the acquisition by HTG of the introducing broker, money management and proprietary trading businesses of Kottke Associates.

Stocks rose on Tuesday, with a potential trans-Atlantic corporate takeover boosting sentiment already buoyed by a growing conviction that the first rise in U.S. interest rates since 2006 won't come until after the summer.

Merck KGaA agreed to buy Sigma- Aldrich Corp. for $17 billion in cash to expand in chemicals used in research labs and pharmaceutical manufacturing and reduce its dependence on drug development.

Harmony Gold Mining Co., South Africa’s third-largest producer of the metal, said it’s monitoring a potential merger between Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp. for opportunities to buy discarded assets.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange became the world’s third-biggest bourse today, adding 1,100 stocks from the Osaka Securities Exchange.

European antitrust regulators reportedly have lodged no objections to IntercontinentalExchange Inc.’s takeover of NYSE Euronext.