Many consider it an operation that has already been canceled, but the last word has not yet been said on the merger between the London and Frankfurt stock exchanges. The London Stock Exchange has said it is continuing to work hard to get the green light for the combination with Deutsche Boerse, which is worth 29 billion euros.
Only last Sunday, the LSE himself had communicated his own unavailability meet the conditions set by the antitrust authorities European companies, which - in order to approve the merger - had asked the British Stock Exchange to sell their Italian assets (above all MTS, a platform for the exchange of bonds and government bonds). The response of the European authorities will arrive by 3 April.
“The group continues to work hard on the proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse,” reads the London Stock Exchange release accompanying the 2016 results.
Group profit rose 17% to £1,66 billion last year, with revenues up 14% to £1,5 billion. LSE CEO Xavier Rolet underlined that all business areas grew last year and that the group remains well positioned in all sectors. Rolet also said that a failed merger with Deutsche Boerse would postpone his retirement.
Potential MTS buyer Euronext announced today a $10 billion strategic investment in fixed-income trading technology provider Algomi, which plans to launch a platform in North America.
