LSE's dark pool to go ahead despite Lehman
LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - London Stock Exchange's (LSE.L) foray into the "dark liquidity pool" business will not be stopped by the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers LEH.N, the exchange said on Monday.
The LSE announced the pan-European off-exchange trading platform, Baikal, with Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers in June, in response to increasing competition from new entrants. "It has had a very positive reception from institutional investors, and a number of investment banks and brokers have expressed an interest in taking an equity stake in Baikal as well as using its services," a spokesman said.
Since the announcement, the LSE has held 80 meetings with potential users of the platform.
"We will continue our discussions with key market participants to determine how best to realise this opportunity," he added.
LSE Chief Executive Clara Furse has said Baikal, which is to launch in the first quarter of 2009, is expected to be profitable in the first year of operation.
The 158 year-old Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-biggest U.S. broker, collapsed in the biggest bankruptcy filing in the U.S. history. (Reporting by Daisy Ku; Editing by Paul Bolding)
