The combined business will have a market value of 22bn euros

NYSE said it now owned 91.4% of shares in Euronext, bringing the two firms' 10.9bn-euro ($14.3bn; �7.3bn) merger deal to a virtual conclusion.

The combined firm will manage stock exchanges in New York, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon.

The deal was backed despite some early concerns and other possible options.

One Euronext investor proposed an alternative tie-up with Germany's Deutsche Boerse amid concerns that the deal overly favoured the US business, but this proposal soon collapsed.

Identities retained

Under the terms of the deal, which saw NYSE investors buy out Euronext shareholders, the individual markets will retain their separate identities and trading arrangements.

They will also continue to operate under existing regulations.

Shares in the new business, to be called NYSE Euronext, will start trading in Paris and New York on 4 April.

The two companies are hopeful that firms currently listed on one side of the Atlantic will see the merits of selling their shares elsewhere.

Jan-Michiel Hessels, chairman of Euronext's advisory board, said the combined business would be the "world's largest exchange group" and would lead to substantial cost savings.