The proposed merger of Europe’s two biggest financial market operators, London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Boerse poses competition issues and should also be assessed with regard to the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union, France’s economy minister said on Monday.
A merged group worth almost $30 billion would be similar in scale to the US exchange ICE, which has taken huge slices of Europe’s derivatives markets, and would leave smaller European competitors such as Euronext Paris far behind.
“We will assess the consequences in strategic terms for Paris’s financial center,” France’s Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Brussels.
On his way to a meeting with EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, he said that the proposed deal raised competition issues.
Macron, a former investment banker, also raised doubts about the impact on the merged group if Britain elected to leave the European Union in the national referendum which is expected to take place in June.
“I think we should assess the possible consequences of a Brexit on such a merger,” he said, conceding that it is a matter of debate mostly for shareholders.
Full Content: Reuters
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Uruguayan Antitrust Scrutiny Puts Major Meatpacking Deal Between Marfrig and Minerva on Hold
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Alaska Airlines Seeks Dismissal of Consumer Lawsuit Over $1.9 Billion Hawaiian Airlines Buy
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Idaho Attorney General Orders Split of Kootenai Health and Syringa Hospital
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Court Rejects T-Mobile’s Appeal Bid in Antitrust Case Over Sprint Merger
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Google Requests Judge, Not Jury, to Decide on Antitrust Case
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI