German lawmaker warns
U.S. exchanges against Deutsche Boerse bids
Send a link to a friend
[March 30, 2017]
By Anjuli Davies and Huw Jones
LONDON
(Reuters) - U.S. stock exchanges should not attempt to buy Deutsche
Boerse, the German exchange whose bid to merge with its London
counterpart has just collapsed, a senior German politician said on
Thursday.
"Deutsche Boerse is not only a private company but it also has state
responsibilities," Thomas Schaefer, finance minister for the German
state of Hesse, told reporters.
"The stock exchange authorities of Germany have to guarantee that if
there is a change of owner, it has to guarantee that business has to
continue uninterrupted as normal and it doesn't matter who makes an
offer," Schaefer said.
Asked what his response would be if a U.S. exchange like ICE <ICE.N>
stepped in to bid for Deutsche Boerse, Schaefer replied: "I would rather
recommend colleagues in America not to attempt to do this."
Hesse regulates the financial center in Frankfurt where Deutsche Boerse
is based, and also has a veto over any merger involving the exchange.
The European Commission on Wednesday vetoed a planned tie up between
Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange Group <LSE.L>, saying it
would have reduced competition in fixed income markets.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Mar/30/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_051513.png)
In 2012, Brussels also vetoed a merger between Deutsche Boerse and NYSE
Euronext, the U.S. exchange which ICE later acquired.
The collapse of the latest merger effort has triggered speculation of
fresh attempts at consolidation among exchanges, with Singapore
Exchanges looking at tie-ups abroad, according to media reports on
Thursday.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/033017pics/busine74.jpg)
The plaque of the Deutsche Boerse AG is pictured at the entrance of
the Frankfurt stock exchange February 1, 2012. REUTERS/Alex Domanski/File
Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Mar/30/images/ads/current/Library_lda_EDUCATION_2017.png)
FRANKFURT TO GROW
Schaefer was in London to visit financial institutions and regulators as
Frankfurt hopes to benefit from banks in London having to beef up their
continental bases to continue serving clients after Brexit.
"We believe Frankfurt will grow," Schaefer said.
However, he expects that the Brexit "cake" will be divided among several
financial centers in the EU.
Insurance market Lloyd's of London [SOLYD.UL] said on Thursday it has
chosen Brussels for its European Union subsidiary because of its strong
regulatory framework.
Schaefer said he believed banks would make decisions in principle over
the next three to six months on where to set up new entities and
relocate.
He also met with the European Banking Authority (EBA), which will have
to relocate its headquarters from London, and noted that the European
Commission has proposed that it is merged with the European Occupational
and Pensions Authority, which is based in Frankfurt.
(Editing by Alexander Smith)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Aug/26/images/ads/current/ldn_business_directory_small2_2016.png) |