London Stock Exchange shifts focus to Refinitiv buy as HKEX ends pursuit

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing abruptly dropped its £29.6-billion ($36.2 billion) unsolicited takeover bid for London Stock Exchange Group, after opposition from the UK company and a cool reception from Beijing.
 

The HKEX board, which met over a public holiday on Monday after a weekend of violence, was concerned by the lack of engagement from the LSE, weeks after it initially approached the firm, people familiar with the matter said.

The proposal didn’t get support in China, where the official People’s Daily pointed to “persistent worries” about Hong Kong given the current unrest, and instead promoted LSE’s existing tie-up with the