(Alliance News) - London Stock Exchange Group PLC on Friday confirmed that it has entered into exclusive discussions with peer Euronext over the sale of Borsa Italiana, the operator of the Milan stock exchange.
"There can be no certainty that a transaction will result from these discussions and any potential sale will be dependent upon the outcome of the European Commission's review of the Refinitiv transaction and that transaction closing in accordance with its terms," the stock exchange operator cautioned, however.
Shares in LSEG were trading up 0.6% early Friday at 8,892.00 pence each.
In a short statement, LSEG also said that it had received and reviewed a number of competitive proposals from several parties for each of MTS and the Borsa Italiana group as a whole, but went ahead with Euronext.
Borsa Italiana is 99.99% indirectly owned by LSEG. In addition to operating the Milan stock exchange, Borsa Italiana operates a number of other trading platforms, and its group includes clearing house Cassa Di Compensazione e Garanzia, MTS, central securities depository Monte Titoli and Elite.
Euronext had announced on Monday it had submitted an offer to buy Borsa Italiana in partnership with Italy's CDP Equity and Intesa Sanpaolo Spa.
"The proposed combination of Borsa Italiana and Euronext would create a leading player in continental European capital markets, where Italy would be the largest revenue contributor to the enlarged Euronext group," Euronext had said in its statement on Monday.
Euronext has been on a shopping spree recently, buying the Danish Central Securities Depository, VP Securities, last month to expand its Nordic footprint. It also acquired the Scandinavian electricity exchange Nord Pool in January and the Oslo Stock Exchange in June 2019.
LSEG's announcement Friday means Euronext has been favoured over other potential suitors, such as LSEG's erstwhile merger partner Deutsche Boerse AG, as well as over Switzerland's SIX, which reportedly was considering joining the bidding.
In July, LSEG had said that it has started "exploratory discussions" to potentially sell its interest in MTS or potentially the Borsa Italiana group as a whole in order to get European Commission's approval on its Refinitiv deal. The company had agreed to buy financial markets data and trading platform provider Refinitiv a year ago for USD27 billion.
By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
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