London Stock Exchange says in merger talks with German rival

London Stock Exchange Group, which owns the London and Milan exchanges, said Tuesday that it was in merger talks with Deutsche Boerse about creating a pan-European titan.

Following a sharp jump in LSE Group's share price, "the Board of LSE and the Management Board of Deutsche Boerse confirm that they are in detailed discussions about a potential merger of equals of the two businesses", a statement said.

It added that the talks were about "creating a leading European-based global markets infrastructure group" that "would be expected to deliver an enhanced ability to provide a full service offering to customers on a global basis".

With rumours swirling that talks were ongoing, LSE's share price surged by about 14 percent in London trading. Once LSE put out a statement, its share price surged further and was up almost 20 percent in early afternoon deals.

Deutsche Boerse won nearly 8.0 percent in Frankfurt.

"Although negotiations seem to be at a very early stage, a tie-up would make sense in regard to possibly synergies and overall improvement of competitiveness versus their main rivals," Markus Huber, analyst at stockbroker City of London Markets, told AFP.