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  • 📈 LSEG Secures £455m in Euroclear Exit

📈 LSEG Secures £455m in Euroclear Exit

December 12, 2024

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This is Cliff Equity, the UK’s business newsletter that keeps you informed on what’s important in tech, business and finance in less than 5 minutes

In today’s stories:

  • LSEG Secures £455m in Euroclear Exit

  • Snap, Crackle, Loss: Kellogg’s UK Drama

  • Musk’s SpaceX Soars to £275bn Sky High!

The summary: LSEG’s £455m Euroclear stake sale underscores its pivot to data dominance amid London’s IPO slump, while Euroclear attracts a fresh global mix of powerhouse investors.

The details:

  • Cashing In: The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has sold its 4.92% stake in Euroclear for a tidy £455m, pocketing a handsome profit after buying it for just £242m in 2019.

  • Changing Hands: The stake now belongs to TCorp, Australia's New South Wales government's investment arm, alongside French and Belgian government-linked firms stepping into the Euroclear ring.

  • Strategic Shuffle: LSEG originally invested in Euroclear to tighten its grip on market infrastructure but is now pivoting towards data and analytics, led by CEO David Schwimmer, who’s steering the group’s global ambitions.

  • IPO Blues: While the deal underscores LSEG’s evolution, its flagship exchange faces a dry spell, with only 14 IPOs this year—a rather unflattering low point.

Why it matters: LSEG’s sale of its Euroclear stake signals a shift from traditional market infrastructure towards its new role as a global data powerhouse—think less trading floors, more algorithms. It’s a rare bit of financial cheer for a group grappling with its exchange’s lacklustre IPO performance, as the City of London struggles to stay alluring. Meanwhile, Euroclear’s reshuffled ownership hints at a growing global appetite for the less glamorous but utterly vital plumbing of the financial world.

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The summary: Kellogg’s UK is juggling billion-pound sales, a factory closure, and a Mars buyout, proving even our breakfast favourites come with a side of corporate drama!

The details:

  • Cereal gains, but the bottom line sours: Despite sales soaring past £1bn thanks to Pringles and cereal classics like Frosties and Coco Pops, Kellogg’s UK operations slipped to a loss, with one arm reporting a £61m deficit.

  • Mixed crunch in the books: While the marketing arm saw pre-tax profits rise to £28.5m, the manufacturing side stagnated at £143m turnover, issuing a cheeky £176.1m dividend despite the loss.

  • Factory closure on the horizon: The Trafford Park factory will shutter by 2026, axing 360 jobs, though Salford HQ and Wrexham sites are safe – for now.

  • Kellanova’s next chapter: With Kellogg’s split and rebranded, Mars is set to snap up Kellanova for £27.9bn in a deal expected next year, as Pringles leads the snack attack.

Why it matters: Kellogg's crunches through a mix of sweet and sour, showing even billion-pound brands aren't immune to the cost pressures of the day. The looming factory closure hints at deeper efficiency drives, while the Mars buyout could shake up your snack aisle loyalties. It's a reminder that behind every bowl of Coco Pops lies a corporate soap opera worthy of your morning coffee.

The summary: Musk’s SpaceX rockets to £275bn, his fortune soars past £300bn, and with a mix of ambition, contracts, and a dash of Twitter drama, he’s proving that when you're a mogul, the sky’s the limit.

The details:

  • SpaceX's valuation rockets to £275bn as Musk and investors snap up employee shares for £185 a pop—double last year’s price tag.

  • Musk’s net worth soars to a stratospheric £305bn, with Tesla and SpaceX securing billions in government contracts and big wins for Starlink and Space Force.

  • UK’s Baillie Gifford and Sequoia Capital keep their chips on SpaceX, while Musk’s side hustles like Neuralink (£6.4bn) and xAI (£40bn) bolster his empire.

  • Despite splurging £35bn on X (formerly Twitter), its slumping value hasn’t dented Musk’s influence, as his 200M followers amplify political messages like a megaphone.

Why it matters: Elon Musk's ever-expanding empire showcases how one man’s ambition—and a few billion in government contracts—can reshape industries and valuations overnight. With SpaceX climbing to a cool £275bn and Musk's personal fortune eclipsing £300bn, it’s clear the money isn’t just in rockets; it’s in monopolizing the future. Meanwhile, even a faltering Twitter (sorry, X) can’t dim Musk’s