EU: Who is to blame for the LSE-Deutsche Boerse merger fall out?

A German bid to buy the London Stock Exchange was in tatters last night after EU competition regulators intervened, the Daily Mail reported.

In a “surprise, late intervention by the competition authorities in Brussels”, according to The Daily Mail, LSE was asked to sell its majority stake in its Italian platform for European government bonds, MTS.

However, LSE said it was not willing to do that and that as a result, the European Commission was “unlikely” to approve the Deutsche Boerse merger. A final decision is due by 3 April.

The European Commission demands to LSE to sell its stake in MTS, an electronic market in Italy, come as a “total shock”, according to senior sources.

The regulator could still wave the takeover through, despite the LSE’s refusal to cooperate, but this is unlikely.

Officials in France are also being “blamed” by some, adds the paper, with sources suggesting Paris wanted one of its own to buy MTS just as it is acquiring LSE’s France-based clearing business.

A third culprit could be LSE’s refusal to let its headquarters be based in Germany triggered political pressure for the Commission to step in. There has long been a suggestion that, especially in light of Brexit, Germany would have sought to oppose a deal that will see its main markets operator headquartered in London.

It is the third time the two companies have tried to merge.

Full Content: Daily Mail

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