LSEG Loses Bid to Dismiss $175 Million Maystreet Fraud and Contract Lawsuit

London Stock Exchange Group will face a $175 million (£131 million) fraud and breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by the former chief executive of a company it acquired, after a US judge denied the exchange owner's attempt to dismiss the case. CityAM reported the ruling.

Judge Adams Allows Flannery's Claims to Proceed

LSEG's subsidiary Refinitiv, which it bought from Thomson Reuters in 2020, acquired US analytics firm Maystreet in 2022 for about $275 million after approaching the company with an offer and pledging to integrate LSEG's global data feeds into Maystreet's products. The deal included an earnout provision that could add up to $175 million in future payouts to Maystreet executives, depending on post-acquisition performance.

After the deal closed, Patrick Flannery, Maystreet's chief executive, alleged that nearly two years passed without the defendants adding any data feeds to Maystreet's products because of technological incompatibilities. He said the failure caused the firm to miss revenue targets and therefore miss out on the earnout payment.

Flannery filed the lawsuit in Delaware last year against LSEG and its affiliates, Refinitiv US, Latitude Merger Sub, and Maystreet itself, alleging fraud for inducing the sale with false promises and breach of contract for operating in bad faith after closing. He also alleged that shortly after filing the complaint, LSEG terminated his employment. LSEG strongly refutes the allegations and filed a motion earlier this year to dismiss both claims.

On Friday, Judge Meghan Adams dismissed LSEG's application, ruling that Flannery adequately pleaded his claims and that the lawsuit should proceed to trial. Flannery's lawyer, Dylan Kletter of Brown Rudnick, said: "We are very pleased that the court rejected every argument that LSEG made for dismissal. Now that both the fraud and contract claims are proceeding, including against LSEG itself, we look forward to discovery and trial."

A LSEG spokesperson said: "LSEG continues to strongly dispute the allegations in this case. At this preliminary stage, the court was required to assume that the plaintiff's allegations were true. Applying what the court described as a 'minimal' burden, the court allowed the case to proceed to discovery." The spokesperson added that LSEG strongly rejects the allegations and is confident the evidence will show they are unfounded.

LSEG's Scale and Recent Moves

London Stock Exchange Group plc is a UK-listed global financial markets infrastructure and data provider serving more than 40,000 customers across approximately 190 markets, with operations spanning trading, clearing, indices, data, analytics, FX and risk intelligence, according to akta.pro company records. The same records show LSEG announced a record £3 billion share buyback in February 2026 alongside a 56.5% increase in FY2025 pretax profit to £1.97 billion and a 15.7% dividend increase.

Earlier London Exchange Developments

In September 2026, Six Group boss Bjorn Sibbern said 2026 trading volume was strong, with five IPOs on its Swiss exchange and 17 on its Spanish bourse, contrasting this with the London Stock Exchange's struggles and noting UK pension funds invest only 4% in LSE equities versus 10% in Swiss, CityAM reported. The Egyptian Exchange said in September 2026 it would discuss dual listing opportunities with the London Stock Exchange, while also holding talks with Saudi, UAE and Nigeria exchanges, according to WAYA. In August 2026, South Africa's central bank said it was collaborating with the London Stock Exchange's clearing house, LCH SwapClear, to accelerate offshore adoption of the South African Rand Overnight Index Average, Bloomberg reported.

Next Steps for London Stock Exchange Group

The case will proceed to trial in the US, with discovery to follow the judge's ruling.