Under the JV agreement, Nyse Euronext will contribute its 60% stake in European carbon credits spot market BlueNext for a majority holding in the Nyse Blue venture. French state bank Caisse des Dépôts holds the remaining 40% of BlueNext, which was established in 2008.

Meanwhile, APX will contribute its business, which provides regulatory infrastructure and services for the environmental and sustainable energy markets. In exchange, the firm's shareholders - including Goldman Sachs, MissionPoint Capital Partners, and Onset Ventures - will hold a minority stake in the new venture.

Brian Storms, chairman and CEO of APX, will lead Nyse Blue once the deal is concluded, which is expected to happen by the end of the year subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.

Nyse Blue will offer integrated pre-trade and post-trade platforms, environmental registry services, a front-end system for accessing the markets and managing environmental portfolios, reference data, and the BlueNext trading platform.

The new outfit, which will focus on the North American and Asian markets, sees Nyse Euronext take on the potentially lucrative energy trading sector's established players. CME Group and ICE have well established operations while old rival Nasdaq OMX entered the arena in 2008, setting up an energy and carbon trading unit after completing the acquisition of Nordic power exchange Nord Pool's clearing, international derivatives and consulting subsidiaries.

Duncan Niederauer, CEO, Nyse Euronext, says: "Our listed companies and markets customers increasingly need innovative tools and trading instruments to manage new types of business risks including those around energy, carbon, renewable energy, water and other environmental factors. The formation of NYSE Blue and addition of APX will build upon BlueNext's business and strengthen NYSE Euronext's position in environmental markets on a global scale by expanding our portfolio of services and attracting new partners and customers."