Euronext has confirmed it has entered into discussions to bid for the London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG) Milan-based securities exchange Borsa Italiana.
The pan-European would have to offer at least €4 billion for the bid to be successful, according to reports.
“Euronext confirms it is currently in discussions with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Equity (“CDP Equity”) to submit an offer to London Stock Exchange Group plc for the acquisition of the business and key operational assets of Borsa Italiana,” Euronext said in a statement.
Euronext will have to face off with rival European exchange groups Deutsche Börse and SIX Group, both of which have also been considering making an offer, according to a report from Bloomberg.
SIX most recently closed its acquisition of Spanish exchange group BME, while Deutsche Börse’s CEO, Theodor Weimer, stated earlier this year that acquisitions will play a major role in its strategy. Similarly, in March, SIX said via its 2019 annual report that it would look to acquisitions in the near future as a means of growth.
Meanwhile, Euronext recently completed its takeover of Danish central securities depository (CSD) VP Securities for €150 million, and is currently integrating the Oslo Børs markets onto its trading systems. Euronext entered into a bidding war with US exchange group Nasdaq to secure its acquisition of the Norwegian stock exchange early last year.
LSEG previously stated it is considering offloading Borsa Italiana and its Italian fixed income trading business, MTS, as it looks to alleviate competition concerns raised by the European Commission about it’s the proposed $27 billion acquisition of Refinitiv.
The Commission said the combination of LSEG’s MTS platform and Refinitiv’s Tradebweb 54% interest will significantly increase their market share in electronic trading of European government bonds.