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The London Stock Exchange Group surged Monday after the exchange operator announced merger talks, with the takeover chatter buoying the broader market.
The FTSE 100
UKX, +1.73%
rallied 1.22% to 7641.33, the best gain of the major European stock markets. Heavyweight Vodafone Group
VOD, +5.47%
VOD, +11.42%
extended last week’s gains from announcing it may sell its European towers business, with shares rising another 4% on Monday.
The M&A news didn’t inspire the action across the Atlantic as U.S. stock futures
SP00, +0.08%
pointed to a flat start for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, +0.19%
. The U.S. Federal Reserve is due to cut interest rates on Wednesday, with the markets unsure whether the rate cut will be a quarter-point or a half-point.
In its first major deal since ex-Goldman Sachs executive David Schwimmer took the reins as CEO, the London Stock Exchange Group
LSE, +14.84%
shares jumped 15% as the exchange operator said it’s in talks to buy Refinitiv, owned by Blackstone
BX, +0.04%
and Thomson Reuters
TRI, +4.37%,
in a $27 billion deal to bulk up its offerings of financial data and infrastructure.
Analysts at UBS, who rate LSE at neutral, said the deal would lift LSE earnings by 8% in its first year and by 20% in year three, excluding any refinancing benefits.
Just Eat
JE, +27.97%
jumped 25% to 795 pence after it and Takeaway.com
TKWY, +3.47%
announced merger talks, in a deal where the Dutch-listed group would buy the U.K.-listed company in a stock swap valuing Just Eat, using Friday’s closing prices, at 731 pence a share. Activist investor Cat Rock has stakes in both food delivery companies and has been reported to be pushing for a deal.
Ferguson shares
FERG, +3.15%
rose 2% as Sky News reported that Nelson Peltz’s Trian has urged the plumbing products distributor to sell its U.K. business.
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