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Chris Hughes

LSE Puts a Ring of Steel Around Its Refinitiv Deal

The $27 billion takeover's timetable will be a big deterrent for any potential interloper.

The London Stock Exchange’s headquarters.

The London Stock Exchange’s headquarters.

Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg

London Stock Exchange Group Plc has put another obstacle in the way of any bidder looking to buy the venerable bourse and stop its proposed $27 billion purchase of Refinitiv.

On Thursday, LSE shares leapt again after the exchange confirmed its plans to buy the financial data provider and give its owners Blackstone Group LP and Thomson Reuters Corp. a 37% stake in the enlarged company. LSE stock is now 25% above its price before the transaction became public last week, lifting the company’s market value by about 5 billion pounds ($6.1 billion).