The London Clearing House and Clearnet of France are on course for a ground breaking merger deal in the new year, according to LCH chief executive David Hardy.
Speaking at a conference in London yesterday, Hardy said that talks between Clearnet and LCH are still ongoing and moving towards a conclusion. He alluded to the deal only briefly, adding: "All I will say is that what we are attempting to achieve is ground breaking and of lasting benefit."
Talks between Clearnet and LCH were put on the backburner during Deutsche Bourse's attempted merger with the London Stock Exchange, but have been revived in the wake of Euronext's take-over of Liffe. With this latter acquisition, Euronext added a 20% stake in LCH to its 80% holding in Clearnet.
The pan-European Exchange believes a merger between the two would create a dominant central counterparty in Europe, processing trades across multiple instruments and markets. If a deal can be concluded it would also increase the pressure on the London Stock Exchange to join the Euronext alliance.