LSE share price rallies as investors cheer Refinitiv deal

London Stock Exchange’s (LON:LSE) share price has jumped in London this Thursday, as the company announced that it had sealed the deal to buy financial services company Refinitiv. The news came as LSE updated investors on its interim performance.As of 12:56 BST, LSE’s share price had added 6.67 percent to 7,068.00p. The stock is outperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently stands 0.23 percent lower at 7,569.60 points.LSE inks deal to buy RefinitivLSE announced in a statement today that it had agreed definitive terms to acquire Refinitiv in an all-share transaction for a total enterprise value of approximately $27 billion. The FTSE 100 company said that the deal brought together “two highly complementary businesses”. The update comes after LSE confirmed talks to buy the business earlier in the week.“With the acquisition of Refinitiv, we will transform our position as a leading global Financial Markets Infrastructure group,” LSE’s chief executive David Schwimmer commented in the statement, adding that “Refinitiv brings highly complementary capabilities in data and capital markets, as well as deep customer relationships across a truly global business”.The deal, however, is expected to face heavy regulatory scrutiny. Reuters reports that sources close to the deal expect full competition investigations, which could take from a year to 18 months.Group posts half-year resultsLSE separately updated investors on its half-year performance, reporting a seven-percent rise in half-year revenue to £1.02 billion, and an eight-percent gain in total income to £1.14 billion. The company’s adjusted operating profit rose 11 percent to £533 million and the group hiked its interim dividend by 17 percent to 20.1 pence per share, in line with its stated dividend policy.According to MarketBeat, the blue-chip group currently has a consensus ‘buy’ rating, while the average target on LSE’s share price stands at 5,388.18p.