In an effort to win favour from anti-trust regulators for its proposed acquisition of Refinitiv, the London Stock Exchange plc (LSE) is selling Borsa Italiana Group to Euronext NV.
The exchanges announced a transaction that will reorder the European trading landscape, with Euronext buying Italy’s Borsa Italiana for €4.3 billion in cash.
The LSE indicated that it’s selling the exchange to secure the European Commission’s clearance for its planned US$27-billion acquisition of financial data giant Refinitiv.
“We believe the sale of the Borsa Italiana group will contribute significantly to addressing the EU’s competition concerns,” said LSE CEO David Schwimmer.
The addition of Borsa Italiana will strengthen Euronext’s position in the region’s cash equities market, and boost its fixed income trading business and its role in clearing, the exchanges said.
The transaction is subject to shareholder approval, and approval by regulators in Italy, the U.K., the U.S., Belgium and France.
Assuming those approvals are granted, the proposed combination is expected in the first half of 2021.
The LSE hopes to close its deal for Refinitiv by the end of 2020 or early 2021.