Deutsche Boerse could become US takeover target if London Stock Exchange merger fails, chief executive says
Deutsche Boerse could become a US takeover target if its merger with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) fails, its chief executive has said.
Carsten Kengeter has suggested Chicago-based CME Group could become interested in the German company should the £21bn “merger of equals” fail.
Speaking of potential interest from CME Group, Kengeter said: “I don’t really think this will crystallise at the moment but they could articulate it if our merger is unsuccessful.”
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Speaking at the ICFW Frankfurt international business journalists’ club he also said that if the deal were to fail, Deutsche Boerse would need to seek other partners, Reuters reported.
Kengeter added: “I would have various suggestions but whether it came to exercising these options is a different question.”
He also told the group that Deutsche Boerse had looked at a number of possible combinations over the last year but that the LSE proved the best option.
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Analysts are far from certain the tie-up with go through, with Credit Suisse, Exane BNP Paribas, Numis and Morgan Stanley all warning of the many hurdles the deal faces in recent weeks.
The deal received a boost over the weekend when Children’s Investment Fund (TCI) founder Christopher Hohn indicated his activist hedge fund, an LSE shareholder, would back the deal.