The London Stock Exchange Group plc turned heads on Wednesday after the Thompson Reuters (TSX:TRIL)-Blackstone consortium sold the final chunk of its interest in the capital markets and data analytics firm.
This fully removed an overhang on LSEG shares following a lengthy divestment process following LSEG’s acquisition of Refinitiv from the consortium in 2019.
Nothing head-turning about that, but what was surprising was the 1.1% premium placed on the £1.6 billion disposal.
As UBS analysts rightfully pointed out, “placements like these are more often priced at discounts to incentivise potential buyers”, as was the case in the four previous placements of LSEG shares by the consortium.
"To price at a premium for a deal of this scale is unprecedented, demonstrating demand for LSEG's stock and the liquidity of London's market," an LSEG spokesperson gushed.
Although LSEG is a prestige company and one of the shining lights of the FTSE 100, the reality of the premium may be more prosaic than LSEG is letting on.
“We suspect the premium in (yesterday’s) placement is driven by a small number of large buyers who decided the 1% premium was lower than the market impact of acquiring LSEG's shares in bulk in the open market,” said UBS analysts.
They continued: “While we view the long-term opportunities for LSEG attractively, particularly on a 3-5 year time horizon, we expect a lack of positive catalysts for the remainder of the year.”
UBS has a neutral rating on the stock with a 10,100p price target against a 9,216p publication price.