Euronext was created in 2000 by merging the Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris exchanges.
The merger created a cross-border European exchange at a time when financial markets were becoming increasingly integrated and electronic. Euronext's original founding exchanges were the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, Brussels Stock Exchange, and Paris Bourse.
Euronext later expanded through additional mergers and acquisitions. It incorporated the Portuguese exchange, creating Euronext Lisbon, and acquired the New York Stock Exchange in 2007. That transatlantic combination was later unwound when Intercontinental Exchange bought NYSE Euronext in 2013; Euronext subsequently became independent again.
Today, Euronext operates markets in several European countries, including venues in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo, and Paris. Its name is a blend of “Europe” and “next,” reflecting the founders' ambition to build a pan-European marketplace rather than a single-country exchange.