HKEX said to rope in banks to court LSE investors HONG KONG Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. (HKEX) has started working with UBS Group AG as it begins its charm offensive to convince London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSE) investors on the merits of its takeover bid, people familiar with the matter said.

The Swiss bank has been brought in as an adviser and is helping HKEX arrange meetings with LSE shareholders, according to the people. Credit Suisse is also aiding HKEX set up meetings with LSE investors and will have a financial adviser role on the offer, a person said.

The Hong Kong bourse was already working with U.S. boutique investment bank Moelis & Co. on the US$37 billion bid.

HKEX has also hired HSBC Holdings Plc to advise on the process, as it focuses on wooing London- and Asia-based investors, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Top LSE shareholders will only support the deal if HKEX can convince them that LSE’s US$27 billion takeover bid for data provider Refinitiv is “absolute rubbish,” that the HKEX offer will receive regulatory approval and that the bid will be improved, the paper cited unidentified sources as saying.

LSE last week rejected HKEX’s takeover offer, citing problems in “strategy, deliverability, form of consideration and value.” HKEX said afterward LSE shareholders “should have the opportunity to analyze” the proposal in detail.

HKEX has quietly begun its campaign on the ground, citing analysts’ criticism of the proposed Refinitiv acquisition, Bloomberg News has reported. An Aug. 13 Commerzbank AG research report pointed to sluggish growth at Refinitiv and said a substantial part of its revenue base is in “structural decline.”

(SD-Agencies)