London Stock Exchange: Full Statement

The London Stock Exchange has cancelled its plan to merge with its Frankfurt rival. BBC News Online documents the text of the stock exchange's statement.

The board of the London Stock Exchange announces that it has decided to withdraw its merger plan with Deutsche Börse, in order to focus attention wholly on the hostile bid from OM Gruppen.

In proposing the merger, the board was seeking to ensure that the LSE could play a leading role in the consolidation of European exchanges and globally through the proposed link with Nasdaq.

The board was well aware that such a plan required a number of issues to be resolved.

It is clear from the shareholder, customer and regulatory issues raised that it is not possible to pursue this proposal in parallel with a bid defence under a Takeover Code timetable.

The board remains of the view that cross-border consolidation of European exchanges, leading to an enlarged pool of liquidity and catalysing essential cost reductions in clearing and settlement, is in the interests of investors, issuers, intermediaries and shareholders.

The board believes that in considering any takeover proposal its shareholders, in their role as customers, would need to be satisfied that their businesses would not be damaged by a change of control of LSE.

In addition, shareholders would need to see a full price to justify surrendering control of such a valuable business.

It is quite clear that the OM offer fails totally on both of these counts.