LSE and Deutsche Börse: an Anglo-German pact in the shadow of Brexit

Consolidation is a fact of life in the stock exchange game, but this proposed merger is far from a done deal

The London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Birse pick their moments. The duo's first set of merger talks, way back in 2000, created a storm when both parties appeared to suggest that share prices in London would soon be quoted in freshly-minted euros.

This time, the negotiations come at the start of the UK referendum campaign in which the prime minister has claimed the City of London will be safe from continental meddlers. Cue, almost certainly, wails of anguish from some quarters about the potential loss of a great British institution. No wonder LSE and Deutsche tried to invoke visions of happy European harmony with their talk of "a merger of equals."