FX.co ★ LSE-Deutsche Boerse merge in jeopardy

The European Commission made a demand to London Stock Exchange Group (LSE), which could collapse the proposed London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse merger.

Antitrust regulators in Brussels ordered the LSE to sell its 60% stake in MTS, a fixed-income trading platform. However, the LSE said it could not commit to sell its Italy-based venue as this step would seriously affect its business. It also said that it would continue to take steps to get approval from the regulators.

The LSE and Deutsche Boerse announced plans for a merger in February 2016. The combined group would have headquarters in London and Frankfurt and is poised to become a better competitor to US exchanges.

The planned €29 billion combination was approved by the LSE’s shareholders in July.