LSE to ask shareholders to approve Borsa Italiana sale

LONDON (Reuters) - The London Stock Exchange Group <LSE.L> said on Wednesday it will hold a general meeting next month to ask shareholders to approve the sale of its Borsa Italiana operations to pan-European exchange Euronext <ENX.PA>.

The meeting will take place on November 3 at the LSE's head office, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shareholders will not be able to attend in person.

"Accordingly, London Stock Exchange Group shareholders are strongly encouraged to appoint the chair of the general meeting as their proxy to ensure that their votes are counted at the general meeting," the exchange said in a statement.

Last week, the LSE's board agreed to sell Borsa Italiana to Euronext for 4.3 billion euros in cash to help it to win approval for its $27 billion purchase of data provider Refinitiv, which is 45% owned by Thomson Reuters, the parent company of Reuters News.

The sale to Euronext is contingent on the European Commission formally stating it will only approve LSE's Refinitiv deal if all or part of Borsa Italiana is sold.

The EU executive body is due to rule on the Refinitiv deal in December.

(Reporting by Huw Jones. Editing by Jane Merriman)