Japan exchanges merge

The Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Securities Exchange plan to merge by January 2013, creating the world's third-largest exchange in terms of market capitalization of its listings, according to a statement by the exchanges.

The deal will see the Tokyo Stock Exchange pay 480,000 yen ($6,230) for each Osaka Stock Exchange share, which closed at ¥421,000 apiece Monday on the Jasdaq. The Osaka exchange will retain its public listing following the merger as the surviving company, with the Tokyo exchange absorbed into the listed entity.

Shareholders in the Tokyo exchange will receive 0.2019 share in the Osaka exchange for each TSE share they hold. The two exchanges cited costs savings of ¥7 billion a year from integrating their trading systems as part of the rationale for the consolidation, the statement said. Osaka Securities Exchange traded up 3.7% at 436,500 in afternoon trade on the Jasdaq.