London Stock Exchange (LSE) share surged on Monday morning over news that they have confirmed talks to acquire data vendor Refinitiv.
If the deal goes ahead, Refinitiv who makes Eikon software will see the deal being valued at £21.94bn.
LSE Group said in a statement, “The combined business would create a leading, UK-headquartered, global financial market infrastructure provider with significant multi-asset capital markets capabilities, a leading data and analytics business and a broad post-trade offering, well positioned for future growth in an evolving landscape.”
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said, “Buying Refinitiv would not be a wild-card move; in fact, there is a lot of merit to bolting the two companies together.
“It would provide London Stock Exchange with a significantly stronger position in the field of data.
“The big challenge is to clear any competition authority hurdles and convince shareholders that it isn’t overpaying for the deal. The share price jump on the news would suggest that investors have initially given a big thumbs-up to the proposed deal.”
LSE shares surged by 15% at Lunchtime trading at 6,523p.
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