EU antitrust regulators block Deutsche Boerse, LSE merger

[BRUSSELS] EU antitrust regulators blocked the proposed merger of Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday as expected, saying that the deal would have harmed competition because of the companies' combined market power.

The European Commission said the fifth attempt, three public and two informal, by the companies to create Europe's biggest exchange would have created a de facto monopoly in the markets for clearing fixed income instruments.

"As the parties failed to offer the remedies required to address our competition concerns, the Commission has decided to prohibit the merger," European Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

London Stock Exchange set the stage for a veto after rejecting a regulatory demand to sell its MTS Italian trading platform.

REUTERS