The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is expecting to complete its acquisition of Refinitiv by the end of Q1 2021, CEO David Schwimmer has said.
In the announcement of its Q3 results, the LSE said that the Refinitiv deal continues to make good progress having achieved additional merger clearances.
Over the last three months, the exchange has received relevant clearances from the US, Australia, Canada and the UAE which brings the total number of approvals up to 15.
However, the recently agreed sale of its shareholdings in Borsa Italiana to Euronext for €4.3 billion remains dependent on the European Commission’s clearance on the Refinitiv transaction.
The LSE is hopeful that its divestment of the Italian stock exchange in addition to its regular communication with the European Commission will ease the concerns voiced by the European Union.
London Stock Exchange vs EU: Refinitiv battle reveals unease over power of modern stock markets
Schwimmer (pictured) commented: “We are making good progress on the highly attractive Refinitiv transaction, having secured further regulatory approvals around the world.
“We continue to engage constructively with the European Commission and believe the potential divestment of the Borsa Italiana group will contribute significantly to addressing the EU’s competition concerns.”
Furthermore, the LSE added that its total income grew by 2% in Q3 to £600m however FTSE Russell’s indexing business was not helped by assets benchmarked ETFs.
FTSE Russell’s asset-based revenues decreased 7% reflecting lower levels of passive fund assets under management (AUM) in the prior quarter, however, assets benchmarked against ETF products continued to rise.
