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Exclusive | Refinitiv ‘generates a lot of cash’ for London Stock Exchange Group, was the right deal instead of HKEX takeover, CEO David Schwimmer says
- HKEX made a surprise bid for the operator of London Stock Exchange in September 2019, which was conditional on LSEG dropping its offer to buy Refinitiv
- LSEG rejected the HKEX offer and went ahead with the acquisition of Refinitiv, and is ‘very pleased with how that has worked out’, CEO says
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The London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG) acquisition of data company Refinitiv – instead of accepting a takeover bid from bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) – diversified business and brought in more stable income, CEO David Schwimmer said.
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HKEX made a surprise £29.6 billion bid, equal to US$36.6 billion at the time, for the operator of the three-century-old London Stock Exchange in September 2019. HKEX’s bid was conditional on LSEG dropping its US$27 billion offer to buy Refinitiv, made barely a month earlier in August 2019.
LSEG’s board quickly rejected the HKEX offer and went ahead with the acquisition of Refinitiv, which has turned the London bourse operator into a diversified company with stable income even during the coronavirus pandemic, Schwimmer told the Post recently.
“We continue to have a very good relationship and a very constructive partnership with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing,” Schwimmer said. “I think it was just two companies with very different strategies. Our board was very confident and comfortable with our strategy to acquire Refinitiv and become a global financial market infrastructure and data provider. We are very pleased with how that has worked out, strategically.”
Refinitiv’s data and analytics business generates ample cash because it has a lot of long-term subscribers worldwide, including HKEX. Subscription-based income represents 70 per cent of LSEG’s total revenue annually, while the rest comes from its market-related activities.
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