LSE in Talks With Euronext Over Borsa Italiana Sale; Shares Move -- Second Update

By Matteo Castia

-- London Stock Exchange in exclusive talks with Euronext over sale of Borsa Italiana.

-- Euronext partnering with Italy's Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Intesa Sanpaolo.

-- LSE selling Borsa Italiana to ease the European Commission concerns over acquisition of Refinitiv

Shares in Euronext NV rose Friday after it said that it was in exclusive talks with London Stock Exchange Group PLC over the acquisition of Italy's Borsa Italiana.

Euronext said that it had engaged in the talks with LSE with CDP Equity, an entity owned by Italian investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, and Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo SpA.

"Italy, through Borsa Italiana, would become the largest revenue contributor to the enlarged Euronext group," Euronext said.

In a separate release Friday, London Stock Exchange said it had received and reviewed a number of proposals from several parties for Borsa Italiana and electronic fixed-income trading market MTS.

London Stock Exchange shares at 0735 GMT were up 52 pence, or 0.6%, at 8,894 pence, while Euronext shares in Paris were up 4.1 euro ($4.86), or 4.2%, at EUR102.2.

Earlier this month, Euronext and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti joined forces to present a bid to acquire Borsa Italiana. The bid was submitted on Sept. 14, in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo.

In July, LSE started exploring the possibility of selling its interest in MTS and Borsa Italiana, in an effort to satisfy the European Commission's regulatory concerns regarding its own deal to acquire financial-data provider Refinitiv.

The exchange operator had agreed to buy Refinitiv in August 2019 for $27 billion, and the European Commission launched a Phase II review into the deal.

London Stock Exchange reported in July a pretax profit of 362 million pounds ($469.7 million), at a revenue of GBP1.06 billion, and declared an interim dividend for the first half of 23.3 pence.

Euronext added that it was not certain the talks will lead to a transaction.

Write to Matteo Castia at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 18, 2020 04:09 ET (08:09 GMT)

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