Elliott Stake in London Stock Exchange Group
Elliott stake in London Stock Exchange Group pushed for a fresh buyback and narrower margins and could spur renewed buyback speculation and trading flows.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Elliott had built a stake in LSEG and engaged management to press for a fresh buyback.
- It pressed to narrow LSEG's margin gap versus peers and prioritized capital allocation over a sale.
- Data and analytics made roughly 50% of revenue while shares fell more than 35% last year.
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On Feb. 11 ET, Elliott Management built a stake in London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and engaged the company to press for a fresh buyback and narrower margins, according to reports.
Elliott Engagement and LSEG Business Context
Elliott Management, an activist investor managing about $80 billion in assets, has opened talks with LSEG to push for a new share buyback and to reduce the company’s margin gap with competitors. Elliott does not seek a full sale or spin-off of LSEG’s stock-exchange business. Both LSEG and Elliott declined to comment, and no regulatory filings or exchange disclosures about the stake appeared in the 72 hours after reports surfaced.
In 2024, data and analytics accounted for roughly half of LSEG’s revenue, while capital markets contributed about 21%. The company’s shares have fallen more than 35% over the past year amid concerns about artificial intelligence, increased competition, and a slowdown in new listings.
LSEG maintains strategic partnerships including Microsoft, which holds a 4% stake following a $2 billion investment in 2022 tied to a 10-year commercial agreement. LSEG also supplies data to AI platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. Last year, LSEG executed a £1.0 billion ($1.37 billion) share buyback and announced plans to sell about 20% of its post-trade services business. CEO pay was set at £13 million.
Some analysts consider LSEG’s recent share-price decline excessive. The public focus of Elliott’s engagement appears to be on capital allocation rather than structural changes to the group.
