Two Market Operators, BATS and Direct Edge, Said to Be in Talks to Merge BATS Global Markets and Direct Edge are in talks to merge, potentially creating one of the biggest stock market operators in the country, a person briefed on the matter told DealBook on Friday. Talks are continuing and may still fall apart. Both companies are privately held. If successful, a merger would jump the combined company ahead of the Nasdaq OMX Group and put it close to the New York Stock Exchange and its electronic platform in terms of volume, as well as showcasing the rise of two markets built to favor computerized high-speed trading. Word of the talks, reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal, emerged just one day after Nasdaq halted trading in all stocks listed on its market because of technical glitches. Last year, BATS sought to go public, listing shares on its own exchange. But technical issues that affected trading in stocks like Apple forced the market operator to halt trading, and the company eventually withdrew its initial public offering.