On Monday, the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) named Michel-Alain Proch its new finance chief, starting March 1, 2024. He currently serves as group CFO of the advertising group Publicis PUBP.PA> and takes on the role of Anna Manz, who will step down in February 2024 following the publication of the group’s 2023 full-year results. Proch will report to chief executive David Schwimmer and join the board as a non-executive director.
The company said he would receive a salary of up to PS850,000 with remaining remuneration arrangements aligning with the Remuneration Policy. The group will also grant him buyout awards to compensate for the forfeited bonus and unvested equity awards from his previous role at Publicis. It added that the quantum for the forfeited awards will be based on and validated against the group’s performance outcomes.
LSEG, which owns London’s 300-year-old stock exchange, is transforming into an international provider of market infrastructure and data. It recently completed a $27 billion acquisition of Refinitiv, a competitor in financial news and data, as part of its push to diversify away from the traditional trading markets.
Proch will have to manage the integration of the two businesses. In the longer term, he will also have to deliver on the promised benefits of the new ITV platform, which is due to launch this year. It will allow private companies to float shares without prospectuses, which can be expensive and time-consuming. This could be attractive to smaller firms, such as payments firm Revolut and drinks outfit BrewDog, valued at more than US$1 billion, according to private company analysis company CB Insights.
The ITV is expected to be used by many companies, from private equity funds to small businesses. It will be a free service for listed companies and will be available to anyone, including investors outside the EU, who would usually be excluded from the market. The new platform will be designed to be simple and easy to use. Initially, it will be restricted to equities and expand to include bonds, property, and commodities.
The stock rose 8% to 8.75p in morning trade. It was the second biggest riser on the FTSE 100 index and was the third-best performer among midcaps. Investors were encouraged by a statement from the company that raised its mid-term growth guidance to “mid-to-high single” digits from earlier guidance of low to mid-single digits. The company also said it would return a billion pounds to shareholders in 2024 as it looks beyond its traditional core markets. LSEG’s share price has doubled in value since its listing in 2014. It was the sixth-largest listing of the year, raising more than $1.75 billion in capital. The bookrunners included JP Morgan, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank. The shares were sold at a discount of about 5% to the stock’s last closing price. Barclays said the placing represented around 6.5% of the group’s issued share capital.
