The venue for a union of titan bourses has been booked and so far there is no evidence the New York Stock Exchange will be on the guest list.
Germany's Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday disclosed they had agreed to merge in an all-stock deal making it a titan platform of $30bn combined market capitalisation in the fast-consolidating bourse industry.
The original engagement was made public three weeks ago and IntercontinentalExchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, was accused of a spoiler tactic after it said this month that it was considering a competing offer for the London Stock Exchange - but never publicly enumerated how much it was willing to pay.
But there is still a window of about a week before IntercontinentalExchange's threat would sound hollow. So all eyes are now on whether the US bourse operator will convince the LSE to jilt Deutsche.
That isn't the only name in town. Other possible suitors include the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which this month said it was keeping an eye on the Deutsche Boerse discussions.
News reports this month also indicated that the CME Group, which operates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade and the New York Mercantile Exchange, was considering making a competing offer for LSE
To provide further dynamics to the process and to show no hard feelings, Deutsche and LSE on Wednesday confirmed that there would be no termination fee if the parties walked away from merger. If that did happen, it would be the third and perhaps last time that Deutsche had attempted merger with LSE in the past 16 years.
Proving what an incestuous industry it is, it was four years since Deutsche dropped plans to merge with the parent of the New York Stock Exchange because European antitrust regulators had threatened to block that deal.
If the deal proceeds, however, Deutsche will command a 54.4% share in the expanded enterprise with LSE holding the smaller 45.6%.
The merger suitors have been at pains on Wednesday to explain that whatever the decision of British voters on whether to remain in the European Union in a June 23 referendum or to "Brexit" it would not fetter the union of the bourses.
That role could still rest with one of the American or Asian bourses yet to make its figures heard.
Elsewhere on US bourses here are some of the rising and falling stocks of note.
RISERS
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) shares were up 4.3% at $40.40 after the business software company reported adjusted quarterly profit just above forecasts, with revenue in line. The company also added $10bln to its stock buyback programme.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 1.54% at $106.19 after the IT company said in its latest legal filing that it had not exhausted its defence against the U.S. government and reiterated that authorities do not need the company's cooperation in investigating the San Bernardino terror attack. The government is trying to force Apple to assist in unlocking an iPhone belonging to the shooter in the incident.
Polycom (NASDAQ:PLCM) shares rose by 0.8% to $10.88 after Reuters reported the company is in merger talks with Canada's Mitel Networks (NASDAQ:MITL), which was up 6% at $7.27. Polycom, a provider of voice and telephone equipment, has been under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management which has been demanding Polycom combines with its Canadian rival.
FALLERS
Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) shares sank 49% to $2.06 after the largest US coal producer skipped a $71.1mln interest payment on its senior debt. The missed interest payment kicks off a 30-day grace period. The company may be forced to file for bankruptcy protection.
LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) shares fall 4.8% to $110.00 after broker Morgan Stanley downgraded the business social network's shares to "equal-weight" from "overweight," citing slower enterprise growth among other negative factors.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) fell 0.5% to $500.50 after the restaurant chain warned it expected its first-ever quarterly loss, a change from its prior forecast for a break-even quarter. That follows news that the restaurant chain's February comparable-store sales plunged 26% following a series of food safety incidents last year.