London Stock Exchange agrees to sell Borsa Italiana to Euronext for $5 billion

On Friday, London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) reported that it had accepted a 4.33 billion Euros ($5.09 billion) cash offer by Euronext (ENX.PA ) to acquire Italy’s only stock exchange Borsa Italiana.

In September, Euronext and LSE started to discuss the acquisition deal after the largest stock exchange in Europe saw a trade competition between Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) and Swiss Exchange (SIX).

“We believe the sale of the Borsa Italiana group will contribute significantly to addressing the EU’s competition concerns,” London Stock Exchange’s Chief Executive Officer David Schwimmer stated.

Euronext said that it would fund the deal through a debt and equity hike. The firm’s market value was around 7 billion Euros.

“Euronext will significantly diversify its revenue mix and its geographical footprint by welcoming the market infrastructure of Italy, a G7 country and the third-largest economy in Europe,” Euronext’s Chief Executive Officer Stephane Boujnah said.