Transatlantic exchange operator NYSE Euronext is making a bid to buy the London Metal Exchange, a source close to the matter said Friday. "It's a really early process," the source told AFP, explaining that NYSE executives had met with their LME peers on Wednesday to submit a preliminary proposal. There was "a level of interest" expressed at the meeting, the source said.
The 135-year-old LME, the world's biggest metals market by volume, is seen as a key prize amid vast consolidation in the industry in recent years. The highly liquid London-based LME reported record volumes in 2011 equivalent to $15.4 trillion annually. It is owned by the banks and brokers who use it. In late September the LME said it had been approached by more than 10 potential bidders.
NYSE Euronext's bid comes after European Union authorities vetoed its planned mega-merger with Germany's Deutsche Boerse earlier this month on competition concerns. The exchanges announced on February 2 that they were abandoning the plan to create the world's largest exchange operator.
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