According to a report by UK broadsheet Daily Telegraph, Capuano put the plans to Euronext chief executive Jean-Francois Theodore and managing board member Olivier Lefebvre at a scheduled monthly meeting in Rome during which the trio discussed Euronext and Borsa Italiana's jointly-owned bond trading platform MTS

Under Capuano's proposal, dubbed "Progetto Rinascimento", the three exchanges would be merged under a holding company, which would be worth around EUR21.5bn.

Two different companies would be created following the merger of the three exchanges – which would be wholly owned by the holding company - one for derivatives and another for cash equities.

A third company would manage technology, although this would be 51% owned by the holding company. For post trading, two different separately managed units would be established for clearing and for settlement, in which a minority of shares would be owned by the top company.

Euronext shareholders would own 50% of the holding group, with the other 50% owned by Deutsche Börse and Borsa Italiana. However, a Börse insider has already stated that the German exchange would never accept a "junior role" in the event of a European exchange merger.

According to a Reuters report, a source familiar with Deutsche Börse's consolidation strategy has said it would be "absolutely unrealistic" to imagine a junior role for the German exchange operator, which has a market value of EUR12.3bn compared with Euronext's EUR8.5bn.

Euronext shareholders are due to vote on a proposed takeover by the New York Stock Exchange in December. The European exchange agreed a $10 billion - or EUR7.8 bn - deal from Nyse in May, ousting a rival bid by Deutsche Börse.