By Pamela Barbaglia, Valentina Za and Tom Sims
LONDON/MILAN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The London Stock Exchange will review offers valuing Borsa Italiana at up to 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) at a Thursday board meeting, three sources familiar with the matter said.
The sale, dubbed “Project Botticelli”, puts the Milan bourse at the centre of the latest shake-up in the European exchange sector, with non-binding bids from France’s Euronext
Sources said Six has made the highest offer for Borsa, which the LSE
“The LSE is in no rush to take a decision. There are many stakeholders that LSE needs to please, including EU antitrust regulators and Italian lawmakers,” one of the sources said.
The LSE, which declined to comment, is trying to sell Borsa Italiana as part of regulatory remedies needed to clear its $27 billion acquisition of data provider Refinitiv.
Refinitiv is 45% owned by Thomson Reuters
Euronext, which has made the lowest bid, has teamed up with Italian state-owned lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) whose backing is key to selling the deal to lawmakers in Rome.
‘GOLDEN POWER’
Italy’s Treasury can block any unwanted takeover of Borsa using its “golden power” legislation.
Rome is also keen to have a tight grip on Borsa’s MTS platform, which is used for trading Italy’s huge sovereign debt and is seen as being of strategic importance, sources have said.
Both Six and Deutsche Boerse are trying to lure Rome away from Euronext and have offered Italian officials guarantees on governance as well as representation on their respective boards.
In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Six CEO Jos Dijsselhof said it was ready to offer a governance structure that took into account Italy’s interests in both Borsa and MTS.
Deutsche Boerse has offered to buy Borsa Italiana in tandem with Italian investors and would give Rome a seat on its supervisory board, sources have said.
The German exchange is prepared to enter a joint venture with Italian investors that could hold up to 49% of Borsa while Deutsche Boerse will have a controlling stake of about 51%.
It would also grant Italian investors majority control of MTS should the LSE decide to sell it separately.
($1 = 0.8483 euros)
(Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London, Valentina Za in Milan and Tom Sims in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Elvira Pollina in Milan and Mike Shields in Zurich; Editing by Alexander Smith)
