By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The London Stock Exchange is set to win EU antitrust approval for its $27 billion (20.2 billion pounds) acquisition of data analytics company Refinitiv, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The deal would make the LSE a major distributor and creator of market data. Last month it offered to allow rivals non-discriminatory access to clearing and data for 10 years as part of a package of concessions which included the sale of its Borsa Italiana operations to Euronext.
The sources declined to provide details of any changes to the concessions. Refinitiv is 45% owned by Reuters’ parent Thomson Reuters.
The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by Jan. 21, declined to comment. LSE and Refinitiv also declined to comment.
LSE shares gained 4% on the Reuters story and were up 5.4% in latest trade.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Huw Jones in London; Editing by Jan Harvey and Pravin Char)
