Xavier Rolet is that rare executive who makes his own wine, so it is perhaps appropriate that the French-born head of the London Stock Exchange wants to add an offering for Europe's bread and pasta makers to the menu.

The LSE spent years fending off unwelcome takeover bids from overseas rivals while new competitors dined on its share of trading in blue-chip UK stocks. It found one merger partner six years ago in Italy's Borsa Italiana, but lost another when its planned combination with Canada's TMX Group collapsed in 2011.