By Quentin Webb 

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. abandoned its $36.6 billion attempt to take over London Stock Exchange Group PLC, saying it couldn't pursue the deal without any input from the target's management.

The surprise cash-and-shares proposal, unveiled in September amid political upheaval in both Britain and Hong Kong, was quickly r ejected by LSE's board. It would have created one of the world's largest exchange operators, overseeing markets in London, Milan and Hong Kong.

"Despite engagement with a broad set of regulators and extensive shareholder engagement, the Board of HKEX is disappointed that it has been unable to engage with the management of LSEG in realising this vision, and as a consequence has decided it is not in the best interests of HKEX shareholders to pursue this proposal," the Hong Kong company said on Tuesday in a stock exchange filing.

In walking away from the deal, HKEX clears the way for LSE to conclude its own $14.5 billion plan to acquire financial-information and terminal company Refinitiv Holdings Ltd. The Hong Kong group's bid was contingent on its London rival scrapping that transaction.

Write to Quentin Webb at quentin.webb@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 07, 2019 21:42 ET (01:42 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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