When two well-known names in any industry merge there is often a fierce debate about what to do with their respective brands. The proposed tie-up between NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse is likely to be no different, but while Deutsche Börse will own the majority share of the new group, it is NYSE's brand that carries far more weight.

Past exchange deals have resulted in a variety of solutions to this problem. When the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse announced their intention to merge in 2000, they proposed scrapping their respective names and forming a new company called iX. On the other hand, the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext merely squashed their two brands together when they merged in 2006 to form NYSE Euronext.