Watchdog probes rival takeover plans for LSE

THE British competition watchdog yesterday ordered a probe into rival takeover plans for the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said it had asked the Competition Commission (CC) to investigate the proposals of German stock exchange Deutsche Boerse (DB) and pan-European exchange Euronext.

DB withdrew its bid earlier this month after pressure from shareholders, but said it was not ruling out a future offer if the LSE received rival bids. DB had also asked the OFT to continue with its investigation into its potential takeover of the LSE.