9th Sep 2022 09:16
(Alliance News) - The UK competition watchdog has provisionally cleared London Stock Exchange Group PLC's acquisition of Quantile Group Ltd, it said on Friday.
The decision followed an in-depth phase 2 inquiry.
In December, LSEG announced that it would acquire portfolio, margin and capital optimisation services provider Quantile for up to GBP274 million, an acquisition which would allow the stock exchange operator to expand its range of post-trade risk management solutions to its customers.
The UK Competition & Markets Authority upgraded its investigation to a phase 2 after finding "competition concerns during an initial phase 1 review that warranted further investigation".
The CMA has concluded, however, that the deal "does not raise substantial competition concerns in the UK".
The regulator was concerned the acquisition by the stock exchange operator could "potentially disadvantage third party compression providers", leading to reduced competition.
It added: "Although the evidence showed that LSEG may have the ability to disadvantage Quantile's rivals post-merger, the investigation has provisionally found LSEG would not have the commercial incentive to do so as its customers were clear they could take steps to stop such efforts."
Shares in LSEG were trading 0.3% higher in London on Friday morning at 8,026.00 pence each.
By Paul McGowan; [email protected]
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