Euronext Submits Offer to LSEG to Acquire Borsa Italiana

Euronext first confirmed it was in talks to acquire Borsa Italiana on Friday.

After confirming that it was in talks with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) to acquire Borsa Italiana, Euronext has confirmed today that it has submitted a non-binding offer to the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) to acquire the stock exchange.

Euronext first confirmed it was in talks with CDP to acquire Borsa Italiana on Friday. As Finance Magnates reported, the pan-European infrastructure aims to buy the business and key operational assets of the exchange.

Once again, the exchange operator has not provided an exhaustive statement. However, the company did highlight that there can be no certainty that its offer will lead to a transaction.

“The proposed combination of Borsa Italiana and Euronext would create a leading player in continental European capital markets, where Italy would be the largest revenue contributor to the enlarged Euronext group,” Euronext said in its statement today.

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“This transformational project would effectively position the newly formed group to deliver the ambition of further building the backbone of the Capital Markets Union in Europe, while at the same time supporting local economies.”

The Borsa Italiana is the country’s only stock exchange and one of the most prominent participants in Italy’s capital market. The exchange is owned by LSEG and was founded in 1808 by Eugenio Napoleone. 

Earlier this year in July, LSEG revealed that it was considering selling a part or maybe all of Borsa Italiana to ease the process of receiving the regulatory green light for the Refinitiv acquisition.

Euronext Acquisition Spree

Euronext has been actively expanding its portfolio, with the acquisition of a number of central securities depositories. Namely, the exchange operator recently acquired VP Securities in Denmark.

Following on from this, the company is now a leading CSD operator in Europe, with three CSDs: Euronext VPS in Norway, Interbolsa in Portugal, and VP Securities in Denmark. Together, the CSDs represent €2.2 trillion in assets under custody. This breaks down to 31 million settlement instructions per year and 4.5 million accounts.