That appears to be the thinking of Dublin-listed paper packaging company, Smurfit Kappa, which is joining a growing number of large Irish firms eyeing share trading in the US.
Earlier this month, €8bn Smurfit Kappa said it will delist from Dublin as part of an $11 billion swoop on the US's WestRock. Losing all four companies would erode over half the $172 billion market capitalisation of the Irish Stock Exchange, according to Reuters Breakingviews calculations.After all, its owner Euronext controls a vast network of exchanges including Milan, Amsterdam, Oslo and Paris with a combined value of $6.3 trillion.But the reality is these venues are fragmented and operate under different national rules.
That may explain why $190bn chemicals company Linde, in a blow to Euronext-rival Deutsche Boerse, abandoned its Frankfurt listing and is now listed solely in the US.The 10% bump in CRH's share price following its listing change reinforces that view.EU member states would have to sacrifice their own domestic rules and agree on creating a single market to allow companies to access investors across the 27 member states.