What a waste! £835 million creamed off the Refinitiv and LSE deal by ‘advisors’

Refinitiv’s deal with LSE may be one in which shareholders and financial markets professionals look forward to, but what about the massive sum being bilked from both sides by lawyers and advisors? This type of conduct never gets scrutinized

Nobody likes lawyers or consultants, however when looking at today’s revelation regarding the recently confirmed impending merger between Refinitiv and the London Stock Exchange, more fuel will likely be added to that fire.

Shareholder interest may well be focused on the potential might of the merging of one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data infrastructure and the London Stock Exchange, however that shouldn’t detract from the massive amounts being charged by hangers-on such as lawyers and external advisory firms who are set to receive a total of £835 million in combined fees when the deal goes live.

It is well known that lawyers create paperwork and obstacles in order to extract as much as possible from companies during an acquisition or merger, however this is outlandish, and there are no rules which prevent lawyers from creating drag and obstacles in order to milk their clients.

FinanceFeeds has been witness to external consultancies in the UK robbing the health service blind, to corporate lawyers creating a situation in which they live from the losses of customers when dealing with the administration of insolvent financial services firms and providing low penny-to-the-pound offers to defrauded customers when acting on their behalf in recovering funds, the lawyers often helping themselves to more than the client receives.

The predicted £835 million should alarm shareholders and directors of LSE and Refinitive that are responsible for conducting the transaction.

Firms including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Robey Warshaw, Barclays, RBC Capital Markets and law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer will be raking in the cash after advising the LSE on the deal.

Refinitiv, which is owned by Thomson Reuters and investment giant Blackstone, will be handing out cheques to firms including Evercore, Canson Capital Partners and Jefferies.

Jefferies and Freshfields are in the same building at 100 Bishopsgate. They will no doubt be jointly celebrating.

The forthcoming merger between LSE and Refinitiv was first announced in summer 2019, but has taken months to work through as regulators comb through the details.

The LSE hopes its combination with Refinitiv, best known among City traders for its terminal screens, will make it a major player in the increasingly valuable financial data market.

Accountants at mid-tier firm BDO may have been looking at the LSE advisers’ fees with envy, as they took a double-digit hit to their pay. After the draconian lockdowns instigated by the government whose aspirations are toward total control disrupted business, their average share of profit before tax slumped 14 per cent to £518,000 for the year to June 30.

It is time that these outlandish fees which go totally unquestioned are brought under the microscope.

Read this next

Digital Assets

US probes Jack Dorsey’s Block for crypto compliance lapses

Block, the fintech firm founded by Twitter co-creator Jack Dorsey, is under federal investigation for its cryptocurrency unit’s compliance practices.

Fundamental Analysis, Market News, Tech and Fundamental

Global FX Market Summary: Fed, USD, Geopolitical Tensions May 1 ,2024

Fed decision may strengthen USD, hurting some economies and trade. Mixed US data muddies the picture. Geopolitical tensions weaken Euro as investors favor the USD.

Retail FX

Interactive Brokers’ client trades surge by third in April 2024

Interactive Brokers LLC (NASDAQ: IBKR) recorded 2.339 million daily average revenue trades (DARTs) in April 2024, which is 33% higher than the previous year, yet there was a 3% decrease compared to March.

blockdag

BlockDAG Attracts Major Crypto Investment With $100 Million Liquidity Plan And Strategic Vesting, Outpacing Bitcoin, Ethereum, And Solana

BlockDAG is making waves in the cryptocurrency world, securing over $22 million in presale funds so far, while promising $100 million in liquidity through a strategic four-month vesting period.

Market News, Tech and Fundamental, Technical Analysis

Gold Technical Analysis Report 1 May, 2024

Gold can be expected to rise further toward the next resistance level 2350.00 (previous minor reversal high from the end of April).

Digital Assets

Tether reports record $4.52 billion net profit in Q1 2024

Tether, the company behind the popular stablecoin USDT, has disclosed a record net profit of $4.52 billion for the first quarter of 2024.

Chainwire

Polkadot-native Acala Expands to Multichain Horizons Through The Sinai Upgrade

Acala Network releases a new technological roadmap displaying the necessary steps in offering multi-chain services to users.

Chainwire

New meme coin launch $ROCKY surges past $20M Market cap in 3 days, defying the market trends

Enhancements have been rapid and impactful, with the team securing a partnership with a renowned Hollywood art studio to bolster their social media campaigns, integrating $ROCKY into MetaWin’s platform for token-gated competitions, and leveraging their in-house network of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) effectively.

Crypto Insider, Fintech

Resonance raises $1.5 million to disrupt cybersecurity

Resonance Security, a cybersecurity provider within the Web2 and Web3 ecosystems, has plans to accelerate its expansion following a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round co-led by Arca, Fabric VC, and Blockchain Founders Fund.

<