On Wednesday 8 February, the European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager of Denmark, said that the commitments offered the day before by the stock exchange operators Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in order to obtain the European institution's green light for their planned merger would be submitted to a market test.
Only once it has carried out this test will the European Commission be able to make a final decision, Vestager explained.
Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange proposed on Tuesday to sell the clearinghouse LCH.Clearnet SA.
If the merger, plans for which were announced in February 2016, should come to fruition, LCH.Clearnet SA will be sold for around €510 million to the rival operator Euronext, according to reports in the European press.
A few weeks ago, the Commission notified the stock exchange operators Deutsche Börse and London Stock Exchange that their planned merger could have the effect of removing competitors in the clearing services segment. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)