The merger between the stock exchange operators Deutsche Börse and the London Stock exchange (LSE) is starting to look complicated, as the LSE said on Sunday 26 February that it was highly unlikely to be able to meet the conditions laid down by the European Commission.
The Commission has asked LSE to divest its majority stake in the stock exchange operator MTS. “The LSE board believes it is highly unlikely that a sale of MTS could be satisfactorily achieved, even if LSE were to give a commitment”, the operator states in a press release. “Based on the Commission’s current position, LSE believes that the Commission is unlikely to provide clearance for the merger” with Deutsche Börse. On Sunday evening, the latter said that it awaited a decision from the Commission around the end of March.
The deadline set by the European institution is 3 April. It declined to comment on Monday 27 February.
In the framework of the commitments offered to appease the concerns of the European institution, it was proposed that LSE sell the counterparty LCH Clearnet SA to rival operator Euronext for €510 million, according to reports in the European press (see EUROPE 11721). The Commission opened an investigation into this planned merger in September of last year (see EUROPE 11634) and send a statement of objections in December (see EUROPE 11708). (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)