George Washington was also aided by ice as he famously crossed the Delaware River to rout the British in 1776. This time America’s Nasdaq OMX has patriot IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) by its side as it hopes to see off another nasty foreigner. Certainly Nasdaq and ICE’s attack shows Washington-style gusto. Its cash and share offer for NYSE Euronext is a fifth higher than that implied by the so-called merger with Deutsche Börse and a 27 per cent premium to the target’s undisturbed price.
1776年，乔治•华盛顿(George Washington)在著名的横渡特拉华河、击溃英军的战役中，得到了浮冰的佐助。而这一次，美国的纳斯达克OMX(Nasdaq OMX)在试图赶走又一个不怀好意的外来者时，也得到了洲际交易所(ICE，与“冰”的英文相同——译者注)这个“爱国者”的帮助。纳斯达克与洲际交易所的“奇袭”，显然展示出了华盛顿的风范。它们向纽约证交所-泛欧交易所(NYSE Euronext)提出的现金加股票的出价，比纽交所与德意志交易所(Deutsche Börse)合并计划中体现出的纽交所的价格高出20%，比纽交所未接到任何要约前的股价高出27%。