Jean-François Théodore, chief executive of Euronext, has probably become accustomed to his rivals in Frankfurt and London stealing his thunder. But this month, Théodore will take centre stage with the launch of Euronext's own IPO which is expected to value the exchange at more than &euro3bn ($2.5bn).

The affable Théodore can afford himself a wry smile in that he has beaten his rivals in the race to consolidate. For all the talk of the consolidation of European stock exchanges, Euronext is the sole example of a successful cross-border merger between national exchanges.