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London Stock Exchange angry at "derisory" takeover bid from Australian bank

Associated Press

LONDON – The London Stock Exchange reacted with fury Tuesday after Australian investment bank Macquarie Bank Ltd. made a second 1.5 billion pound ($2.65 billion) bid for the exchange.In a statement, the exchange’s board said Macquarie, Australia’s largest investment bank, was attempting to buy it “on the cheap” and said the 580 pence ($10.28) a share offer “ignored the quality and strength” of the business. In December it branded the same offer as “derisory.”The LSE’s rejection came just hours after Macquarie posted full details of its bid to LSE shareholders. The offer, with a Jan. 31 deadline, would be final, the bank said Tuesday.Macquarie, which has British investments in fields ranging from broadcasting to road tolls, first tabled the hostile bid in December after months of speculation that it was pursuing LSE.It posted the offer to shareholders on Tuesday and said: “The offer of 580 pence in cash per LSE share is the only offer available to LSE shareholders.”The offer is well below Tuesday’s closing share price of 615 pence ($10.86), but Macquarie has complained that the value of the exchange has been inflated by ongoing takeover speculation.It said the offer was a “competitive valuation” compared with other recent transactions in the exchange sector.The Australian bank gave LSE shareholders until 3 p.m. (1500 GMT) Jan. 31 to accept the offer.”Macquarie’s offer is a blatant attempt to acquire the exchange on the cheap,” the LSE said in a statement Tuesday, recommending shareholders not respond to the offer.The LSE has been the subject of takeover speculation for some months, after receiving unwanted overtures from Euronext NV and Deutsche Boerse AG.Vail, Colorado


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