Wednesday, September 13, 2006
LSE receives bid approaches from buyout groups, said to be seeking white knight bidder – report
LSE receives bid approaches from buyout groups, said to be seeking white knight bidder – report
Story
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has in the past two weeks received a bid approach from a buyout group, according to a Daily Mail report. The report quoted a source close to the process who said LSE’s adviser Merrill Lynch has been approached by several financial bidders. According to the source, the buyout groups instigated the contacts, and were informed that LSE is not for sale. The report mentioned a potential GBP 2.6bn (EUR 3.8bn) estimated deal size for an MBO bid for LSE. However, industry executives cited by the report said Merrill Lynch had been hawking LSE and has indicated that the exchange’s management want a deal. The newspaper commented that LSE chief executive Clara Furse knows that an auction would be the best way to realize value for the group’s investors. Finding a ‘white knight’ bidder would inject a note of competition into any auction process, the report added. Nasdaq, the US-listed stock exchange, has a 25.3% stake in LSE, so is well placed to acquire its UK-listed counterpart, the report said. Nasdaq submitted a 950p per share offer for LSE in March, which the LSE rejected. Nasdaq’s restrictions on any further offers will be lifted on 2 October, the item concluded. LSE’s market capitalisation stands at GBP 2.59bn (EUR 3.82bn).
Source
Daily Mail
Story
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has in the past two weeks received a bid approach from a buyout group, according to a Daily Mail report. The report quoted a source close to the process who said LSE’s adviser Merrill Lynch has been approached by several financial bidders. According to the source, the buyout groups instigated the contacts, and were informed that LSE is not for sale. The report mentioned a potential GBP 2.6bn (EUR 3.8bn) estimated deal size for an MBO bid for LSE. However, industry executives cited by the report said Merrill Lynch had been hawking LSE and has indicated that the exchange’s management want a deal. The newspaper commented that LSE chief executive Clara Furse knows that an auction would be the best way to realize value for the group’s investors. Finding a ‘white knight’ bidder would inject a note of competition into any auction process, the report added. Nasdaq, the US-listed stock exchange, has a 25.3% stake in LSE, so is well placed to acquire its UK-listed counterpart, the report said. Nasdaq submitted a 950p per share offer for LSE in March, which the LSE rejected. Nasdaq’s restrictions on any further offers will be lifted on 2 October, the item concluded. LSE’s market capitalisation stands at GBP 2.59bn (EUR 3.82bn).
Source
Daily Mail
