NYSE Operator ICE Passes on London Stock Exchange Bid

The operator of the New York Stock Exchange , the InterContinental Exchange, has backtracked on its intentions to bid for the London Stock Exchange. The company made its first official announcement on the matter back in March. At the time the firm outlined its interest to bid to acquire interest in Europe’s biggest exchange.

Last month, Deutsche Borse and the London Stock Exchange jointly announced that they are engaging in a merger of equals. The move left the door open for the operator of the New York Stock Exchange to make a hostile bid for the largest exchange in Europe.

In the aftermath of the announcement, the InterContinental Exchange has decided to drop its plans for an acquisition. Several regulatory hurdles could be the reason for the move, while increasing uncertainty around Brexit is already pushing London’s real estate market lower.

Another prospective reason for the firm to backtrack is related to the existing agreement between Deutsche Borse and the London Stock Exchange. The merger between the firms is yet to clear regulatory hurdles with authorities already looking into the deal.

Some German officials have expressed that they consider the pans to move the headquarters of the joint company outside of Germany to be “unacceptable”. In its statement, the operator of the NYSE outlined that the company’s intentions to walk away from the bid are not final at it could reconsider its decision in the future.

The announcement also revealed that the company has withdrawn an offer it made to the LSE on March 16th.