Euronext has revealed plans to take over Borsa Italiana, its Milan-based rival, by the end of next month. The announcement came as its shareholders rejected the idea of a merger with Deutsche Börse in the light of a rival bid from the New York Stock Exchange.

Gianluca Garbi, chairman of government bond trading platform MTS, which is majority owned by both exchanges, told Bloomberg: "Euronext aims to sign a preliminary agreement with Borsa Italiana by the end of June."