Concerns that a monopoly in fixed income clearing would be created has halted the planned merger between the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche Bourse.
EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the exchanges had failed to offer remedies to address competition concerns.
LSE had earlier this year proposed to sell part of its clearing business to Euronext to alleviate competition concerns. The sale of its French clearing subsidiary, LCH SA, has now been called off.
In a statement this morning, the LSE said it believed the proposed £24 billion merger with Deutsche Bourse in combination with the LCH SA remedy would have “preserved credible and robust competition in all markets”.
“This was an opportunity to create a world leading market infrastructure group anchored in Europe, which would have supported Europe’s 23 million SMEs and the development of a deeper Capital Markets Union,” the statement said.
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