The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS”) has completed its Phase 1 review of the proposed acquisition by London Stock Exchange Group plc (“LSEG”) of sole control over Refinitiv Holdings Limited (“Refinitiv”) (collectively, the “Parties”) (the “Proposed Transaction”).

On 6 April 2020, CCCS accepted an application from the Parties for a decision on whether the Proposed Transaction infringes section 54 of the Competition Act (Cap. 50B), which prohibits mergers that have resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition within any market in Singapore. LSEG and Refinitiv overlap in the supply of fixed income index licensing services (excluding hybrids) to customers in Singapore. In addition, there are non-horizontal links between the Parties arising from six categories of products for which either one or both Parties generate revenue from customers in Singapore and require inputs from either of the Parties to be produced. These are namely, (i) trading services; (ii) clearing services; (iii) index licensing; (iv) financial information products; (v) regulatory reporting services; and (vi) IT services/software.

CCCS has raised competition concerns with the Parties on the Proposed Transaction, based on the information received from the Parties and third parties.

Read the full media release here.