LONDON (Reuters) – Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388.HK) is embarking on a three-week attraction offensive with London Inventory Trade (LSE.L) traders because the Asian buying and selling home tries to salvage its proposed $39 billion takeover provide.

LSE’s board is refusing to have interaction with HKEX after emphatically rejecting its method on Friday. The LSE described HKEX’s provide as essentially flawed, saying it could not meet its strategic targets and got here with a excessive threat of being blocked by regulators.

LSE has stated it desires to stay with its plan of shopping for knowledge and buying and selling firm Refinitiv for $27 billion.

However HKEX has vowed to press on, and has arrange conferences with a collection of LSE’s high traders over the following few weeks, in response to two individuals acquainted with the matter, elevating the possibilities that it might make a hostile provide.

One top-25 investor advised Reuters that they had a gathering booked with HKEX later this month and that there might be a hostile method. Others stated they have been eager to listen to extra moderately than dismissing the deal instantly in favor of the Refinitiv tie-up.

“We’d count on there to be some synergy (within the HKEX deal) each when it comes to company overheads and expertise,” stated James Bevan, chief funding officer at CCLA. He added that whereas he was broadly supportive of the Refinitiv deal, he had some considerations in regards to the knowledge agency’s development technique.

HKEX has till Oct. 9 to make a agency provide or stroll away.

HKEX declined to touch upon the deal past its assertion on Friday that it could proceed to have interaction with LSE shareholders and that its provide was of their greatest pursuits.

LSE didn’t reply to a request for touch upon Sunday.

REGULATORY RISK

A supply near HKEX stated the Asian buying and selling home was assured some LSE traders have been fascinated by their provide and that it had an opportunity of success. They identified that round 15 of the highest 20 LSE shareholders additionally had stakes in HKEX.

However the previous decade has seen a collection of makes an attempt at cross-border change offers fail, thwarted by regulators and politicians even when each firms have favored the deal.

HKEX says it has had “constructive” preliminary discussions with regulators and policymakers. Nevertheless, regulatory sources in Britain and Italy – the place LSE owns Borsa Italiana – stated that they had but to carry substantive talks with HKEX on the deal.

HKEX will probably be relying on its lead banker – Moelis’s Caroline Silver – to assist it pull off what can be a significant coup if it succeeds.

One of the vital outstanding change bankers, Silver labored on LSE’s takeover of Borsa Italiana in 2007 when at Morgan Stanley, and represented London Metallic Trade when HKEX purchased it in 2012.

“Her modus is kind of easy: she is aware of everyone within the change and monetary infrastructure world, she understands the markets … and he or she runs a really disciplined course of,” stated Martin Abbott, London Metallic Trade’s former chief govt.