Macquarie makes €2.2bn bid for LSE

AUSTRALIAN bank Macquarie went hostile yesterday with a €2.2 billion (£1.5bn) takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange that its target has already rejected as “derisory.”

Macquarie, whose British investments range from BBC Broadcast to the M6 Toll Road, put an offer worth 580p a share on the table just hours before a deadline set by the Takeover Panel expired.

The move turns up the pressure on the LSE board, which last week adopted an aggressive stance against Macquarie’s plans, claiming that they lacked any strategic or commercial credibility.