EU blocks Deutsche Börse's $14-billion takeover of LSE

EU regulators have become increasingly tough on big deals

European Union regulators dealt a final blow to Deutsche Boerse AG’s planned takeover of London Stock Exchange Group Plc, a symbolic block on EU-UK integration on the same day Britain formally serves notice of its decision to quit the EU.
 
The $14-billion deal to create Europe’s biggest exchange would have harmed competition in the soon-to-be 27-nation EU by creating a de facto monopoly for clearing bonds and repurchase agreements, the European Commission said in an emailed statement Wednesday. The decision, flagged last month by LSE, thwarts Deutsche Boerse’s expansion just five years after the EU also banned a proposed