LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP PLC - LCH.CLEARNET GROUP LIMITED:
CLEARANCE FROM OFFICE OF FAIR TRADING

14 December 2012

London Stock Exchange Group Plc (“LSEG”) and LCH.Clearnet Group Limited (“LCH.Clearnet”) note the announcement by the Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) released today, stating that the proposed acquisition by LSEG of a majority stake in LCH.Clearnet has been cleared unconditionally.

LSEG and LCH.Clearnet confirm that they have received approval from the Portuguese competition authority (Autoridade da Concorrência) this week.

The transaction remains subject to other outstanding conditions including approval from the Financial Services Authority.

Further to the announcement on 28 September 2012, LSEG and LCH.Clearnet remain in discussions regarding the implications of the new recommendations from the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Banking Authority and potential changes to the commercial terms of the transaction. 

Further announcements will be made as necessary in due course.

For further information please contact:

London Stock Exchange Group 
Victoria Brough
(Media) +44 (0) 20 7797 1222
Paul Froud
(Investor Relations) +44 (0) 20 7797 3322
 
LCH.Clearnet 
Juliana Wheeler  +44 (0) 20 7426 7638
(Media) 

To view this press release as a pdf click here 

Notes to Editors

About London Stock Exchange Group:

London Stock Exchange Group (LSE.L) sits at the heart of the world's financial community. The Group operates a broad range of international equity, bond and derivatives markets, including London Stock Exchange; Borsa Italiana; MTS, Europe's leading fixed income market; and Turquoise, offering UK and Russian derivatives trading, pan-European and US lit and dark equity trading. Through its markets, the Group offers international business unrivalled access to Europe's capital markets.

The Group is a leading developer of high performance trading platforms and capital markets software and also offers its customers around the world access and an extensive range of real-time and reference data products and market-leading post-trade services. The Group is also home to a world leading index provider FTSE, which creates and manages of over 200,000 equity, bond and alternative asset class indices.

Headquartered in London, United Kingdom with significant operations in Italy and Sri Lanka, the Group employs around 1,900 people.

Further information on London Stock Exchange Group can be found at: http://www.londonstockexchangegroup.com/

About LCH.Clearnet:

LCH.Clearnet is the leading independent central counterparty group (CCP) in Europe, serving major international exchanges and platforms, as well as a range of OTC markets. It clears a broad range of asset classes including: securities, exchange traded derivatives, energy, freight, interbank interest rate swaps and euro and sterling denominated bonds and repos; and works closely with market participants and exchanges to identify and develop clearing services for new asset classes.

LCH.Clearnet is regulated or overseen by the national securities regulator and/or central bank in each jurisdiction from which it operates.