LSE grabs slice of Belgium’s Euroclear for £243 million as Nasdaq targets Norway. The shake-up of Europe’s trading houses was in full flow today as the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) snapped up a stake in Belgium’s Euroclear and US giant Nasdaq entered the bidding for the Norwegian stock exchange. The LSE will pay £243.35 million for a 4.92% stake in Euroclear and take a seat on the board of the clearing house as competition for exchanges heats up across Europe. The LSE wants to try to tighten its grip on derivatives clearing in Europe amid fears it could lose business after Brexit. There has been talk that LSE’s LCH, one of the world’s top settlement houses for derivatives, could lose its dominance in euro-denominated clearing transactions as European politicians want that activity to be relocated to the single-currency area after the UK exits the European Union.
Gary Neville scores with sale of stake in his Buzz 16 production firm. Manchester United legend Gary Neville was on Wednesday celebrating a 50% stake sale in his sports production business to a London-headquartered marketing firm. Sky Sports broadcaster Neville and former Sky Sports Premier League producer Scott Melvin have agreed to sell the stake in Buzz 16, which they founded in 2016, to AIM-listed reach4entertainment (r4e). Reach4Entertainment Enterprises (R4E), best known for marketing West End shows such as Aladdin and the Book of Mormon, did not reveal the purchase price. Buzz 16 has been responsible for a number of shows in recent years, including Class of 92: Full Time. Staff will relocate from a Chiswick base into r4e’s central London offices.
