The European Commission has prohibited the proposed merger between Deutsche Börse AG and London Stock Exchange Group under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission's investigation concluded the merger would have created a de facto monopoly in the markets for clearing fixed income instruments.
The proposed merger would have combined the activities of the two largest European stock exchange operators, Deutsche Börse AG (DBAG) and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). They own the stock exchanges of Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, as well as several of the largest European clearing houses.
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “The European economy depends on well-functioning financial markets. That is not just important for banks and other financial institutions. The whole economy benefits when businesses can raise money on competitive financial markets.
The merger between Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange would have significantly re
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