LONDON MARKETS: LSE Bid Helps Lift U.K. Stocks
September 11 2019 - 8:44AM
Dow Jones News
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
Hong Exchange bids for LSE, conditional on London exchange
abandoning merger with Refinitiv
The surprise unsolicited bid for the London Stock Exchange
helped boost U.K. stocks on Thursday.
Shares of the LSE (LSE.LN) rallied 5% to 7168 pence as Hong Kong
Exchanges and Clearing published details of its nearly 30 billion
pound cash and stock offer.
Still that rise was well short of the 8361 pence a share the
Hong Kong exchange said it was willing to pay. The LSE didn't
dismiss it outright but called the bid "unsolicited, preliminary
and highly conditional" and that it remained committed to its own
deal, buying Refinitiv, that the Hong Kong exchange wants to
halt.
"The proposal is a fascinating prospect, but far from a done
deal. The fact that the LSE share price has already retreated from
the initial 10% spike on release of the news may reflect some
initial scepticism around the likelihood of the deal going
through," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive
Investor.
U.K. stocks generally were well bid after China relaxed tariffs
on U.S. products, helping to buoy sentiment for global stocks.
The FTSE 100 rose 1% to 7339.04.
Other gainers included engine maker Rolls Royce (RR.LN) , which
rose over 4%, as did builder Persimmon (PSN.LN) .
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 11, 2019 08:29 ET (12:29 GMT)
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