Microsoft To Buy 4% Stake In London Stock Exchange

US tech giant Microsoft has announced a 10 year strategic partnership with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). As per the announcement, Microsoft will provide data analytics and cloud products to the stock exchange.

Tech group Microsoft announced to acquire 4% stake in London Stock Exchange today as part of a 10-year strategic partnership. The tech company aims to provide the stock exchange with better data and analytics. Microsoft will use its Azure, AI and Teams platforms to provide the stock exchange with data analytics and cloud infrastructure products.

Microsoft will buy 4% shares from Blackstone/Thomson Reuters

“With the Microsoft Cloud and its AI capabilities, the deal significantly advances LSEG’s strategy of building an efficient and scalable platform for its data and analytics business to deliver next-generation services . . . through improved workflow and greater flexibility,” the company said in a statement.

The stock exchange giant noted that the partnership is expected to increase their revenue overtime as new products come on-stream. Bill Gates-founded tech company will buy 4% shares of LSEG’s from the Blackstone/Thomson Reuters Consortium.

Scott Guthrie, executive vice-president of Microsoft’s Cloud and AI unit, will be joining as a non-executive director of LSEG.

LSEG to spend $2.8 Bln on Microsoft’s cloud products

As per the agreement, the London Stock Exchange will spend a minimum of $2.8 billion on cloud-related products over the next 10 years. The stock exchange noted that this is “consistent with existing long-term” spending plans. Both the firms will work together to build new professional collaboration tools.

 “Advances in the cloud and AI will fundamentally transform how financial institutions research, interact, and transact across asset classes, and adapt to changing market conditions,” Satya Nadella, the chairman and CEO of Microsoft, said at the occasion. 

Microsoft aims to deliver a Windows OS for the Metaverse

Microsoft is battling it out with other major tech firms including Meta, Google and Apple to provide a dominant OS for the metaverse. The tech firm is aiming to build a Windows OS for the Metaverse that is ultimately linked to their Azure backend services. Apple is also building its AR OS around iOS in a closed environment. The tech firm has the ultimate goal of owning the back end that will power their MR-AR solutions and services.