Boerse: cash equities are not for sale
A Deutsche Boerse supervisory board member said yesterday that the exchange is unlikely to sell its cash equities business to the London Stock Exchange, contrary to a report in Handelsblatt earlier this week.
Citing unnamed financial sources, the German business daily had reported that UK-based The Children’s Investment Fund wanted the Boerse to pursue a deal with the London exchange.
“I cannot imagine that would happen; everyone at Boerse would oppose it, the state government would oppose it, Frankfurt’s financial industry would oppose it,” the supervisory board member said.
TCI and Atticus Capital, a US-based hedge fund, are the company’s biggest shareholders, controlling 9.3 per cent of votes between them.
The two activist investment funds said last week they would join forces to explore all options for creation of shareholder value at Boerse, causing speculation about asset sales.
But the Deutsche Boerse’s management has repeatedly said it wants to keep its business model intact.
Equinet analyst Christian Muschick was also doubtful that a sale would win support. “The cash market is Deutsche Boerse’s traditional core business and is important to the company’s identity and image and it is the major pillar of the Frankfurt financial cluster,” he said in a note to investors.