LSEG to buy back £750mn of shares from former Refinitiv owners

The London Stock Exchange Group is seeking to buy back £750mn worth of shares from investors, including private equity group Blackstone, as the company reported revenues of £7.4bn.

LSEG said it would seek shareholder approval in April to buy back stock from Blackstone, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Thomson Reuters, all former Refinitiv shareholders.

LSEG bought data group Refinitiv from the Blackstone and Thomson Reuters consortium for $27bn in 2017 and has since been integrating the business.

The company expects to buy back £750mn shares by April 2024, it said on Wednesday, as it reported earnings for 2022.

LSEG’s operating profits rose 2 per cent to £1.4bn, helped by “favourable” foreign currency movements.

Revenues at its capital markets business rose 10 per cent to £1.5bn, with earnings from equities that include listings rising just 3 per cent, reflecting the quiet year for initial public offerings.

On Wednesday, buildings materials company CRH became the latest company to shift its listing away from London, with plans to move its primary listing to New York.