Under the proposed merger, the National Association of Securities Dealers would buy all 864 AMEX seats and run both exchanges, adding new electronic features. The American Stock Exchange still will stand on lower Broadway and stocks still will trade on it, but another company will own it. In that sense, there will be one name for the company. But the name for the auction market and the dealer market will both remain in use. These exchanges survive on member fees rather than the sale of goods, so the name is less of a concern.
Some brand names have a value just because of the name, though.
Buyers in corporate mergers don't let these brands die. The federal government and two-thirds of each exchange's members still must approve the merger before it becomes official. If it does, the world may trade stocks with prices driven by an auction market's discipline and a high-tech market's speed.