HKEX set to fall 3.3% after $39 bn takeover bid for LSE

Shares of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX) were set to fall 3.3% on Thursday after the bourse unveiled a $39 billion takeover approach to the London Stock Exchange Plc (LSE) on Wednesday.

HKEX stocks were set to open at HK$238, compared with a 0.5% gain in benchmark Hang Seng Index.

The proposed deal is aimed at creating a combined group better able to compete with U.S. rivals such as Intercontinental Exchange Inc and CME Group inc. It is contingent on LSE abandoning a deal to acquire financial information provider Refinitiv.

HKEX, whose main shareholder is the Hong Kong government, said its 31.6 billion pound ($38.97 billion) cash-and-share transaction proposal represented a 22.9% premium to the LSE's closing stock price on Tuesday of 8,361 pence.

($1 = 0.8110 pounds)