NYSE eyes American Stock Exchange buy

NEW YORK, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The New York Stock Exchange reportedly is in talks to buy out its smaller rival, the American Stock Exchange.

NYSE Euronext has emerged as the front-runner in the American Stock Exchange's months-long bid to combine with another exchange operator, which included exchanges in Canada and Germany, sources told The Wall Street Journal.

The deal could be worth as much as $350 million, analysts said, if the exchange sells for a premium to its current implied price of roughly $320 million, the Journal said Wednesday.

That cost wouldn't be as much for the NYSE compared with other targets such as New York Mercantile Exchange owner Nymex Holdings Inc. -- worth more than $11 billion -- and could boost its listing and stock options businesses, sources said.