…Mr Schwimmer’s US contacts from his Goldman years may be just as important to the LSE in future — the US contributes a fifth of the LSE’s revenues, and Mr Rolet had expressed fears that some of the LSE’s prized clearing, processed at LCH, could move to the US if Brexit upsets current arrangements.

“The failed Deutsche Börse deal shows how hard it still is to do a deal in Europe,” said Niki Beattie, founder of Market Structure Partners, a markets consultancy. “Perhaps a good deal is more likely to come from North America, as cross-border issues are growing in Europe and maybe the board are thinking about that.”…