Intercontinental Exchange Inc. said it’s exploring an offer for the London Stock Exchange Group Plc, attempting to scuttle the U.K. company’s merger talks with Deutsche Boerse AG, which would create a dominant European stock exchange operator.
ICE, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, confirmed it’s considering a bid after Bloomberg News reported the deliberations on Monday. The Atlanta-based company hasn’t approached LSE’s board about a deal, it said in a statement. The news propelled LSE’s shares up as much as 8.8 percent in London trading, the highest level since 2001, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
