In my opinion one would have to be blinded by greed to even consider such. HKEX already owns LME (metals exchange), no point in merging LSEG, no point at all. So you really think it would be in safe hands? That said, there is a silver lining - the market isn’t keen to the idea. Let’s keep it that way.
- Chad Hagan, London (September 12, 2019)
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Serious doubts about Hong Kong’s £32 billion offer for the London Stock Exchange grew on Thursday just one day after the daring bid emerged. Investors say the deal could fail over price, regulatory and political concerns even in the unlikely event that the LSE’s management backed the offer.
The first opportunity investors in Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) had to react to the deal saw the shares fall more than 3%, taking $1 billion off the value of the company. With growing talk in the City that HKEX is in effect controlled by the Chinese, the LSE is widely expected to formally reject the deal. LSE shares fell again today, off 16p at 7190p, far below the 8361p at which the offer was valued yesterday. That suggests shareholders think it highly unlikely the bid will succeed.
Full story at the Evening Standard
