The London Stock Exchange plans to return around 500 million pounds ($1.0 billion) to shareholders if it succeeds with its proposed 1.6-billion-euro ($2.2 billion) bid for Borsa Italiana, Reuters reports.
In a circular to shareholders published on Monday, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) said the deal included the possibility of up to 350 million pounds being used in the merger and that it had arranged appropriate banking facilities.
“On the assumption that this cash will not be required for the purposes of the merger, the board of London Stock Exchange plans to use this cash, together with the 96 million pounds remaining from the previously announced share buy-back programme, to return 500 million pounds to its shareholders,” the LSE says in its circular.
The LSE, seeking to overcome the reluctance of its biggest shareholder, U.S. rival Nasdaq, toward the deal with Borsa Italiana, said it would return the cash via a tender offer, through market purchases or a combination of the two.