London Stock Exchange Group is acquiring more shares in clearinghouse LCH Group Holdings, bringing its stake to more than 80%.
The stock exchange said in an announcement Friday that it has entered into agreements with a number of minority shareholders of LCH to acquire up to 15.1% of LCH's share capital for total cash consideration of up to a maximum of €438 million ($506 million).
The acquisitions will be funded with cash and existing debt facilities at closing, which is expected by the end of the year. It is subject to regulatory non-objection.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale will sell shares but retain minority shareholders, the announcement said.
Borsa Istanbul, CFT & Viel & Cie, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Nasdaq and Nomura are selling their entire holdings in LCH.
The acquisitions follow a series of minority acquisitions by LSEG late last year and earlier this year, "consistent with LSEG's strategy of increasing its majority ownership while reaffirming its commitment to LCH's customer partnership model with 14 minority shareholders remaining," the announcement said.
LCH operates clearinghouses in the U.K., France and the U.S., with additional offices in the Asia-Pacific region. It provides clearing services for over-the-counter and listed rates; fixed income; commodities and other asset classes.
