美國洲際交易所可能競購倫敦證交所

European ambitions to establish a trading giant to rival US competitors were thrown into doubt after Intercontinental Exchange said it might bid for the London Stock Exchange, days after Deutsche Börse and the LSE revealed a merger plan.

歐洲機構締造一家交易巨擘、與美國競爭對手分庭抗禮的雄心產生變數，原因是美國洲際交易所(ICE)宣佈可能競購倫敦證交所(LSE)。就在幾天前，德意志交易所(Deutsche Börse)和倫敦證交所披露了合併計劃。

ICE, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, said yesterday that it was looking at a proposal but had not yet approached the board of the LSE and that “there can be no certainty that any offer will be made”.

旗下擁有紐約證交所(NYSE)的ICE昨日表示，正在研究一個方案，但還沒有接洽倫敦證交所董事會，並稱：“並不確定是否會發出要約”。

The LSE is in advanced talks with Deutsche Börse over a ￡20bn deal, which would create a globally competitive European champion in derivatives, clearing and financial market data.

倫敦證交所與德意志交易所圍繞200億英鎊的合併交易已展開深入談判，合併將締造一家在衍生品、清算和金融市場數據領域具有全球競爭力的歐洲冠軍企業。

News of ICE’s interest fuelled speculation that other leading exchange operators, including Chicago’s CME Group and Hong Kong’s HKeX, could enter the fray and spark an international -bidding war.

有關ICE感興趣的消息推動人們猜測，其他主要交易所運營商，包括芝加哥商品交易所集團(CME Group)和香港交易所(HKEx)，可能加入角逐，引發一場國際競購戰。

Shares in the LSE rose 7.2 per cent, marking the first time the company has been valued at almost ￡10bn. ICE’s entry could ignite a political storm over who should own and regulate the LSE. A deal with the German bourse would boost London’s prominence as a financial capital, creating a UK-based holding company with dual headquarters in the UK capital and Frankfurt.

倫敦證交所股價上漲7.2%，標誌着該公司的估值首次接近100億英鎊。ICE加入競購可能點燃一場政治風暴，焦點問題是應當由誰擁有和監管倫敦證交所。與德意志交易所合併將提振倫敦作爲一個金融中心的顯赫地位，創建一家落戶英國、在英國首都和法蘭克福設立雙總部的控股公司。