(Adds details on Euronext bid)
By Pamela Barbaglia, Valentina Za and Tom Sims
LONDON/MILAN/FRANKFURT, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The London Stock
Exchange will review offers valuing Borsa Italiana at up to 4
billion euros ($4.7 billion) at a Thursday board meeting, three
sources familiar with the matter said.
The sale, dubbed "Project Botticelli", puts the Milan bourse
at the centre of the latest shake-up in the European exchange
sector, with non-binding bids from France's Euronext,
Switzerland's Six and Germany's Deutsche Boerse.
Sources said Six has made the highest offer for Borsa, which
the LSE bought in 2007 for 1.6 billion euros.
"The LSE is in no rush to take a decision. There are many
stakeholders that LSE needs to please, including EU antitrust
regulators and Italian lawmakers," one of the sources said.
The LSE declined to comment.
It is trying to sell Borsa Italiana as part of regulatory
remedies needed to clear its $27 billion purchase of data
provider Refinitiv and needs a deal by Dec. 16 when EU antitrust
regulators are expected to make a decision.
Refinitiv is 45% owned by Thomson Reuters,
which is the parent company of Reuters News.
Euronext, which has made the lowest bid, has teamed up with
Italian state-owned lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) whose
backing the exchange operator believes is key to selling the
deal to lawmakers in Rome.
If their bid is successful, CDP is set to take a stake of
around 8% in Euronext, becoming its top investor alongside
Caisse des Depots et Consignations which also owns 8%.
'GOLDEN POWER'
Italy's Treasury can block any unwanted takeover of Borsa
using its "golden power" legislation.
Rome is keen to have a tight grip on Borsa's MTS platform,
which is used for trading Italian sovereign debt, sources have
said.
Both Six and Deutsche Boerse are trying to lure Rome away
from Euronext and have offered Italian officials guarantees on
governance as well as representation on their respective boards.
In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Six CEO Jos
Dijsselhof said it would welcome an Italian partner and was
ready to offer a governance structure that took into account
Italy's interests in both Borsa and MTS.
Deutsche Boerse has offered to buy Borsa Italiana in tandem
with Italian investors and would give Rome a seat on its
supervisory board, sources have said.
($1 = 0.8483 euros)
(Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London, Valentina Za in Milan
and Tom Sims in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Elvira
Pollina in Milan, Giselda Vagnoni in Rome and Mike Shields in
Zurich; Editing by Alexander Smith)