The London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) confirmed they are in talks to purchase Refinitiv Holdings, a financial data analytics company, for $27 billion including debt, reports Reuters.
Why it matters: Acquiring Refinitiv would make LSE a "global exchanges and data powerhouse," says the Financial Times. It would also establish the London Stock Exchange as Bloomberg LP's main contender.
- The deal could "create a company with combined annual revenue of more than £6 billion [$7 billion]," says the Wall Street Journal.
The big picture: "Stock-exchange operators face growing pressure on fees they generate from the buying and selling of stocks amid new competition and computerized trading," according to the WSJ.
- The European Union blocked the $30 billion merger plan between LSE and Germany's Deutsche Boerse in 2017.
Editor's note: This post has been corrected to reflect that the EU blocked the merger between LSE and Germany's Deutsche Boerse (not Deutsche Bank).
