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EU: Deutsche Börse and LSE offer French unit as antitrust concession

By  |  February 7, 2017

Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange have gambled on Brussels only requiring a single, narrow concession to overcome antitrust concerns around the €29bn tie-up.

The high stakes approach is a sign the two exchanges are confident of having defeated some of the European Commission’s most significant legal objections to the deal, including the damage to competition in interest rate derivatives clearing.

In an encouraging development for the exchanges, the commission will ask rivals for their feedback on their offer to sell the LSE’s French clearing arm, a process that could pave the way to regulatory approval for the deal next month.

The move came just hours before the German group’s supervisory board gave full backing to Carsten Kengeter, its chief executive, as German criminal authorities probehis share dealings ahead of talks to merge with the LSE.

Full Content: Financial Times

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