The owner of the London Stock Exchange is hunting a buyer for its stake in Euroclear, the financial markets infrastructure provider, in a deal which could generate proceeds of about £500m.
Sky News has learnt that London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has hired bankers at JP Morgan to offload its interest of just below 5% in Euroclear.
City sources said on Tuesday that the process was in its initial stages.
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A sale would reverse the acquisition of LSEG’s interest of the position in 2019, for which it paid just under £242m.
Euroclear plays a key role in global financial market settlements, and is thought to be valued at roughly £10bn.
A string of banks have sold their stakes in the company in recent years, with shareholdings attracting interest from the likes of SilverLake, the technology-focused buyout firm.
Government-owned companies in France and Belgium are among those which have become investors in Euroclear.
For LSEG, the disposal would represent another stage in the realignment of its asset portfolio under David Schwimmer, its chief executive.
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At the time of its purchase of the Euroclear stake, Mr Schwimmer said: “Both LSEG and Euroclear share the same open access philosophy and a customer partnership approach which is central to our businesses.
“We look forward to working with Euroclear to drive continued innovation and efficiencies for the benefit of our customers and the wider market.”
A spokeswoman for LSEG, which has a market capitalisation of over £55bn, declined to comment.