October 02, 2007	Tuesday	Ramazan 19, 1428

LONDON, Oct 1: The London Stock Exchange on Monday completed its purchase of Borsa Italiana, cementing its position as Europe’s biggest equity market amid its tussle with transatlantic operator NYSE Euronext.

The Borsa Italiana takeover dilutes the holdings of key LSE shareholders from the Gulf nations of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which are both seeking to expand their foothold in western bourses.

“Borsa Italiana and London Stock Exchange Group have today completed their merger thereby creating the leading diversified exchange group in Europe and the platform for additional strong growth on a European and global scale,” the LSE said in a statement.

Despite being billed as a merger, former shareholders in Borsa Italiana now own just 28pc of the London Stock Exchange after it issued an extra 79,449,753 shares.

The newly-enlarged LSE remains the biggest player in Europe in terms of equity trading volumes, ahead of NYSE-Euronext — which owns the Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Lisbon markets — and Deutsche Boerse.

Meanwhile, the 40pc increase in the amount of LSE shares arising out of the deal with Borsa Italiana will trim stakes bought last month by the state-linked Qatari Investment Authority (QIA) and UAE-based Borse Dubai.—AFP