(Bloomberg) -- London Stock Exchange Group Plc finally sought European Union approval of its $27 billion bid for data provider Refinitiv, kick-starting one of the most closely watched deal reviews of the year.
The EU's merger control authority set an initial June 22 deadline for regulators to examine the deal, according to a website filing on Wednesday. The date is often extended if companies offer concessions or if the EU opens an in-depth probe, common for complicated data-heavy deals.
The companies had initially planned to file the deal by March, after the U.K. quit the EU but before the end of the Brexit transition period on Dec. 31. Filing now allows the EU to weigh the impact of the tie-up for all of the region, including the U.K.
LSE has previously said it plans to close the deal this year. A spokeswoman declined to comment on the EU filing.
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The outbreak of Covid-19 forced European Commission officials to work from home and saw regulators in March pleading with companies to delay merger filings.
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