Turquoise, the equity trading platform owned by the London Stock Exchange and 12 banks, has won a four-month public tender and entered exclusive talks to become the technology partner of a new European not-for-profit trading venue planning to launch next year.

Turquoise had been in competition with six other operators - Nasdaq, Bats Chi-X Europe, Aquis Exchange, Cinnober, Euronext and Bids Trading - to provide its technology to the Plato Partnership. The tender process, which also took into account market participants' opinions polled on Plato's website, began in March, with the LSE-backed Turquoise entering the fray the following month.