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LSE's Schwimmer Makes Dealmaking Debut With Euroclear Stake

LSE's Schwimmer Makes Dealmaking Debut With Euroclear Stake

(Bloomberg) -- London Stock Exchange Group Plc unveiled the first deal under its new leadership, agreeing to take a minority stake in settlement giant Euroclear Holding SA/NV.

The purchase of a 4.92 percent stake marks the LSE’s first external acquisition since David Schwimmer started as chief executive officer in August. It gives the London bourse a board seat alongside U.S. rival Intercontinental Exchange Inc., which has built a 10 percent stake in Euroclear over the past two years.

Belgium-based Euroclear is an essential piece of market infrastructure, providing settlement, custody and collateral management services across Europe. It holds 28.6 trillion euros ($32.7 trillion) in assets and settles 733 trillion euros in securities transactions each year. It has historically been majority owned by banks.

The LSE’s 278.5 million-euro investment values Euroclear at about $6.4 billion, according to figures in a company filing. The transaction will be funded from existing cash and debt facilities.

“It’s not the fireworks cross-border M&A deal, but doesn’t bring it into a fraught political competition dynamic that a bigger transaction does,” said Redburn analyst Russell Quelch. “Strategically it makes sense.”

Since October, the London exchange has also made several share purchases in LCH Group Holdings Ltd, the clearing house that it already controls.

To contact the reporter on this story: Viren Vaghela in London at vvaghela1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Marion Dakers, Keith Campbell

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