Expectations that the London Stock Exchange Plc will be taken over faded today after prospective bidder Macquarie Bank was given three weeks by regulators to bid or walk away.
Shares in the LSE - which have risen more than 70 per cent since speculation of a bid first emerged in September last year - fell 1.1 per cent to 597-1/2 pence, valuing the exchange at around £1.5 billion.
Britain's Takeover Panel said it had given a consortium led by Australia's Macquarie until December 15th to decide whether to bid for Europe's largest share market by cash equity trading volume.
The Sydney-based bank emerged as a third potential bidder in August. European rival Deutsche Boerse withdrew its offer in February following a row with its shareholders over the handling of its approach.
Macquarie, which is best known for buying companies such as airports and utilities which have stable, if regulated, revenue streams, said it was reviewing a range of possible investments.
Paris-based Euronext is still in the frame to take over the LSE but has yet to make a formal bid, and it too faces the hurdle of getting its shareholders to agree to a bid at a price that LSE investors would accept.