(21 November 2005 – UK) Macquarie Bank’s bid to take over the London Stock Exchange (LSE) could be thwarted by a merger between the LSE and Franco-Dutch rival Euronext.British financial media said LSE chief executive Clara Furse and Euronext’s Jean Francois Theodore were in discussions to explore a possible “merger of equals”.
In August, Macquarie said it would pay more than ₤1 billion in cash for the LSE as part of a consortium. At the time the listed LSE said it aimed to continue as an independent company despite being eyed by a number of players.
Macquarie engaged Goldman Sachs as an advisor earlier this month and Goldman reportedly agreed to inject equity into the bid for the LSE, which has a market value of about ₤1.5 billion.