(Reuters) - Britain's competition watchdog cleared CME Group Inc's 3.9 billion pounds ($4.96 billion) deal to buy Michael Spencer's NEX Group Plc , paving the way for a cross-border trading powerhouse.
A union of the two firms would enable investors to access cash and futures trading and over-the-counter services through one provider for the first time, improving access to markets, NEX's founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael Spencer has said.
CME's clearing house and NEX's TriOptima compression service will allow CME to compete against the LCH, part of the LSE which dominates clearing in euro-denominated instruments such as debt repurchase agreements and interest rate swaps.