London Stock Exchange sells Italian unit for $5.1 billion

LONDON (AP) - The London Stock Exchange Group has agreed to sell its holding in the parent company of the Italian stock exchange to rival Euronext for at least 4.33 billion euros ($5.11 billion).

The LSE said Friday that it began talks to sell Borsa Italiana Group because of expectations that European Union regulators will require it to shed the business as a condition for approving the acquisition of financial market data provider Refinitiv. The deal is contingent on regulators calling for the divestment.

The London exchange in August 2019 agreed to buy Refinitiv in a deal that values the company at $27 billion.

'Å“We believe the sale of the Borsa Italiana group will contribute significantly to addressing the EU's competition concerns,'' said David Schwimmer, chief executive of LSE Group.