: Nearly 16 years after their first attempt to merge, the London and Frankfurt exchanges confirmed they were holding detailed discussions on an all-share merger that would give Deutsche Boerse shareholders a 54.4 percent stake and LSE shareholders 45.6 percent of a new company, according to Euro News. Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier the two were exploring a possible merger. The deal would combine the LSE share-trading operation with the derivatives trading of Deutsche Boerse Eurex in a group worth almost $30 billion . It would propel the companies to a similar scale as U.S. exchange ICE
, which has taken a huge slice of the European derivatives markets. One said the talks, using code names Delta for Deutsche Boerse and Luna for the LSE, were at an early stage. Under British takeover rules, Deutsche Boerse must either make an offer or announce it will not do so by March 22, unless it obtains an extension from the UK mergers regulator. There can be no certainty that any transaction will occur, said the LSE, whose boss, Frenchman Xavier Rolet, has long sought a strong presence in derivatives – a major growth area. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news. Tagged under , topics.