…LSE-Refinitiv is also different to other megadeals in the exchange sector like Deutsche Boerse AG and LSE’s attempted merger in 2017, according to Ortiz. It’s hard to tell how regulators will define the markets and that will determine where the combined entity may have market power, he said.

But Niki Beattie, founder of Market Structure Partners, said that “exchanges have continuously underestimated the regulatory scrutiny of their proposed deals.” “It seems highly likely that it could have happened again and that the process will go to a second stage,” she said. “Regulators have gained more and more experience in looking at exchange related deals over the last decade and data has also become an increasing focus.”

…Niki Beattie, founder of Market Structure Partners, a UK consultancy, said volatile markets drew in institutions, market makers and retail investors alike to meet on public exchanges. “It just becomes a circular effect. All these people want to meet somewhere and the [exchange] is the best place,” she said. …

…”Laddishness is a by-product of a physical trading floor,” said Niki Beattie, chief executive of consultant Market Structure Partners. “The laddishness comes out of markets being unmodernised.” Supporters, who tend to be the trading members…

…HKEX countered LSE’s cold response with a charm offensive, bringing in UBS Group AG and HSBC Holdings Plc to try to persuade shareholders of the merits of its proposal, Bloomberg reported.

“I don’t think the HKEX shareholders were keen for them to take on even more debt,” said Niki Beattie, founder of consultancy Market Structure Partners in London. “With the backdrop of unrest in Hong Kong, it probably would have been difficult for both sides to ignore it and that could be blown into something bigger on both sides. Therefore better to save face earlier on.” …

If the bosses of the London Stock Exchange were in possession of a book on business etiquette in Asia, they threw it out of the window on Friday afternoon. The exchange’s blistering rejection of a £32bn merger approach by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) ensured the maximum loss of face for chairwoman Laura Cha and her chief executive Charles Li.

… “I don’t think this is a coincidence,” said Niki Beattie, founder and chief executive of Market Structure Partners, an exchange advisory company. …

… The LSE choice is between “letting go of a deal that has much greater certainty versus waiting for what could in fact be more than a year of political deliberations,” said Niki Beattie, founder of consultancy Market Structure Partners in London. Such roadblocks can “suck the life out of the organization.” …

…Niki Beattie, founder of Market Structure Partners, said: “It’s proven very difficult for exchanges to get deals done with other exchanges either because of competition issues or because of protection of “perceived national assets”.

It was a view echoed by Mr Schwimmer, who acknowledged the difficulties in attempting an international exchange mega-deal but said the Refinitiv acquisition was different. “Cross-border exchange transactions are pretty challenging. That can be for political or industry reasons. This is not a cross-border exchange transaction.” …

… LSE will be buying, not selling, but the result is the same: A $27 billion deal to create a global powerhouse in data and trading platforms that will more than double the value of the Blackstone group’s initial equity investment in Refinitiv in just 10 months. LSE added almost $4 billion in market value in the first trading day after the talks were confirmed.

“Schwimmer was clearly brought in to do a deal and seems to be delivering,” said Niki Beattie, founder of Market Structure Partners. “The deal shows the importance of data in the world going forward.” …

…“There is a wider market concern about exchanges and data vendors combining,” said Niki Beattie, founder of Market Structure Partners. “The global world of data distribution is presided over by a small number of players who have a lot of power.”…

…LSE has previously sought to bulk up by merging with Deutsche Boerse, a deal that would’ve vaulted the combined firm into the ranks of the biggest global exchange firms, along with CME Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. But that combination was blocked by regulatory hurdles, and Schwimmer ruled out big exchange mergers after taking the job.

“The LSE is clearly pursuing deals that are more vertical than horizontal, presumably after seeing competition difficulties issues arise when some deals with other exchanges are mooted,” said Niki Beattie, founder of consultancy Market Structure Partners in London.

In recent months, LSE has benefited from a program to link up with Chinese markets and a move by European regulators in February to allow euro clearing on both sides of the English Channel under any Brexit scenario.
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