Can London’s Great Wall Against Hong Kong Hold?

Hong Kong Stock Exchanges & Clearing Ltd.’s tilt at London Stock Exchange Group Plc has achieved one thing: It has extracted a helpful checklist of requirements for any other would-be buyer of the venerable U.K. exchange. Hong Kong will struggle to address all of the concerns London set out on Friday – but it’s too early to say for certain it will fail. It could always throw money at the problem.

The LSE has firmly rejected Hong Kong’s proposal even as a basis for discussion. It notes regulatory approval for a deal is highly uncertain and there would probably be scant clarity in the next few months. To pursue a deal that might never materialize, LSE would have to ditch its planned takeover of data provider Refinitiv (which competes with Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News). As things stand, the bird in the bush is worth less than the bird in the hand.