LSE dismisses Canadian bid for bourse

The London Stock Exchange has dismissed the threat of a higher hostile counter offer for Canadian peer TMX Group from local banking consortium Maple Group as incomplete and unlikely to pass muster.

LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet said Maple's C$3.6 billion (2.2bn) bid, which the company will take directly to TMX shareholders, failed to address questions about its funding and regulatory issues.

"Maple's is a highly dubious construction where billion dollar questions remain unanswered," Rolet said. The LSE chief said he remained optimistic about his own lower, agreed 1.8bn TMX deal.

Goldman Sachs analyst Chris Turner said: "In our view the Maple Group's rival bid for TMX leaves LSE with an uphill battle to convince both regulators and TMX shareholders that its offer is superior."