The London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSE) US$27 billion purchase of Refinitiv has reportedly already come under intense scrutiny in Brussels, raising the prospect that EU regulators will initiate a much longer investigation into the deal than had been expected.
The two companies are yet to formally notify competition regulators of the deal, which would trigger the review of the bourse’s acquisition of the financial data provider, which was first announced in August last year, reported The Financial Times.
The LSE and Refinitiv had planned to do so by the start of February, but have delayed after the deal came under unexpected scrutiny in the so-called pre-notification phase, the Financial Times reported.
The proposed tie-up, which has been welcomed by LSE shareholders, was not expected to face significant regulatory hurdles, and the companies had indicated it would complete by the second half of this year.
But the LSE and Refinitiv are now gearing up for a protracted legal battle over the deal, according to the FT.
A lengthy pre-notification period often indicates that regulators will launch a lengthy probe faced by only a minority of the deals, and raises the risk that they could intervene to block the acquisition.
“The deal is likely to go into a lengthier probe and we are not on the clock yet,” one person involved in the discussions told the FT. “It could spill into next year.”
Advisers to the LSE are frustrated by the number of questions being asked by regulators at this early stage, a source told the paper, adding that the process was making their lives “too miserable.”
Full Content: Financial Times
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
UK’s CMA Investigates Education Software Company for Market Abuse
May 14, 2024 by
CPI
Schumer Urges FTC Caution on Chevron’s $53B Hess Deal Over Gas Price Fears
May 14, 2024 by
CPI
Amazon Urges US Judge to Block FTC Probe into Data Preservation
May 14, 2024 by
CPI
Colorado Makes History: First State to Enact Comprehensive AI Legislation
May 14, 2024 by
CPI
Class Action Settlement Reached in Cheerleading Monopoly
May 14, 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