London Stock Exchange share price soars to record high on news of possible bid from NYSE-owner ICE to rival Deutsche Boerse
Shares in the London Stock Exchange Group soared to a record high yesterday, after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) confirmed it is considering bidding for the London-based exchange.
ICE’s intervention came less than one week after LSE revealed it was in merger talks with the Frankfurt-based exchange Deutsche Boerse – their third attempt to strike a deal in less than two decades.
A bid from ICE is likely to push up the price of LSE , but could also ruin a deal altogether. The first proposed LSE-Deutsche Boerse merger was foiled in 2000, when Sweden’s OM Exchange made a £808m hostile takeover bid for the LSE.
Numis analyst Jonathan Goslin told City PM investors “would expect” ICE and other exchanges to be looking at LSE, but added other prospective buyers may stay quieter in the coming weeks
“You want to be a bit careful in making that public,” he said. “Two notices have come out and the shares are up. You are just making it more expensive for yourself.”
LSE shares jumped over eight per cent today, before closing the day up 7.17 per cent, at 2,870p per share.