LSE will likely get raised bids from its two suitors, Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse and Paris-based Euronext that owns Liffe in London.

After the LSE rejected the £1.3 billion bid from the German exchange, Deutsche can be forecast to raise its offer to as much as £1.5 billion ($2.9 billion). The talks between Frankfurt’s exchange boss Werner Seifert and his LSE counterpart Clara Furse are scheduled for Thursday. The German exchange plans a charm offensive promising to transfer its Eurex derivatives trading to London moving about 200 employees to the British capital and to leave Ms Furse at the helm.

Some sources report that Deutsche Boerse could go as far as divest of its clearing house Clearstream based in Luxembourg. LSE customers are apprehensive of being forced into using Clearstream which would make it difficult for them to shop for lower transaction fees.

At the other end, Euronext whose boss Jean-Francois Theodore will meet Ms Furse a day later plans to make a £1.4 billion offer solely in cash as the company boasts a sound balance sheet.

``There’s a 45 percent chance Deutsche Boerse will win LSE, there’s a 45 percent chance Euronext will win and there’s a 10 percent chance LSE will stay independent,’’ said WestLB’s Thormann.