Qatar sovereign fund backs LSE chairman in activist stand-off - source

DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has thrown its support behind the embattled chairman of the London Stock Exchange Group, who is facing calls from an activist shareholder to be removed, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

British hedge fund firm TCI Fund Management, a 5 percent shareholder in LSE, is pushing to oust Chairman Donald Brydon over his handling of the succession of Xavier Rolet, the group's former chief executive who resigned last month.

A shareholder meeting has been called by the LSE board for Dec. 19 to decide on Brydon's future

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the second-largest shareholder in LSE with a 10.37 stake, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data, disagrees that the chairman should be ousted, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

"QIA’s view is it would not be beneficial to have an immediate change in the chairman," said the source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

LSE declined to comment on Tuesday, but said last month that the board unanimously recommended that shareholders reject the resolution, saying ditching Brydon risked significantly damaging the company.

A spokesman for TCI also declined to comment on Tuesday.

The hedge fund firm run by Christopher Hohn is not expecting to pass the resolution to oust Brydon, a source close to the firm told Reuters.

Shareholder advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services have previously recommended shareholders vote against removing Brydon.

The Financial Times earlier reported the news about QIA's support for the chairman.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Additional reporting by Huw Jones and Maiya Keidan in London; Editing by Adrian Croft)