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It seems that Goldman Sachs is “oblivious to the concept of conflict of interest”, said Patience Wheatcroft in The Times.
This week’s news that it was considering joining Australia’s Macquarie Bank, which recently expressed an interest in buying the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in a joint bid, triggered a storm of protest at the prospect of an LSE client becoming a part-owner.
No wonder, said Jeremy Warner in The Independent. Whatever the exchange did, people would suspect that it would be done “first and foremost” to suit Goldman Sachs. Another possible bid arrangement, which hasn’t impressed observers either, would be to let other exchange users join Goldman in taking a stake, said Wheatcroft. “Presumably a conflict shared is a conflict lessened.”
Alex Brummer in the Daily Mail notes that Macquarie tends to “leverage itself to the hilt” and then increase prices after a takeover. But higher fees at the LSE would drive clients out of London to foreign exchanges. You can see why the prospect of a Macquarie tie-up isn’t “thrilling” to the LSE or its users.
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Andrew Van Sickle
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