London Metal Exchange in £1.4bn sale to Hong Kong

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18455901#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Version 0 of 1.

The Hong Kong stock exchange has struck a deal to buy the London Metal Exchange for £1.39bn (1.7bn euros; $2.15bn).

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing said buying the 135-year-old LME would allow it to grow its business in Asia, and particularly in China.

The LME is owned by its members, and the sale is conditional upon 75% of shareholders approving a deal.

The LME, Europe's last "open outcry" exchange, put itself on the market in September last year.

It is the world's largest exchange trading nonferrous metals, including copper and aluminium.

"The acquisition of LME Holdings represents a unique opportunity for us to acquire in one stroke a position of global leadership in the commodities market," HKEX chief executive Charles Li said in a statement.

"This is consistent with our strategy to expand beyond equities and equity derivatives and offers significant opportunities for revenue growth.

"HKEX brings a unique ability to help the LME grow its business in Asia and, particularly, China and we will capitalise on this to deliver value for all our stakeholders," he said.

LME chief executive Martin Abbott added the deal would "secure the future of the LME for its next 135 years".

The LME board intends to "unanimously recommend" that shareholders approve the transaction at a meeting that would be convened before the end of July.