London Stock Exchange in talks with Turquoise

London Stock Exchange in exclusive talks to acquire Turquoise trading platform

• On 11:06 am EDT, Thursday October 1, 2009

LONDON (AP) -- The London Stock Exchange Group PLC said Thursday it is in exclusive talks with Turquoise, a rival trading platform, about a possible acquisition.

Turquoise, launched a year ago, is owned by BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Societe Generale and UBS.

The Exchange gave no details of the negotiations with Turquoise, which covers 15 European countries.

New trading platforms have eaten into the volume handled by the London Stock Exchange, which handles about half the trades in the U.K. Markit BOAT has a share of about 30 percent, CHI-X about 10 percent, and PLUS and Turquoise about 2.5 percent each, Jonathan Jackson of Killik and Co. said in a research note last week.

In a trading update on Sept. 24, the LSE said average daily volume in the five months ending Sept. 30 was 4.6 billion pounds, down 43 percent from the previous year.

The Exchange said it had cut 133 staff since the start of the year, about 12 percent of the total, and other costs are under review.

LSE shares were down 1 percent at 847.5 pence in late afternoon trading.

Turquoise, http://www.tradeturquoise.com

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