Deutsche Boerse, the operator of the Frankfurt stock exchange, believes it has already won over the shareholders of the London Stock Exchange with its €2 billion takeover bid, its chairman said in a newspaper interview today.
Chairman Werner Seifert did not totally rule out a possible move to London if the merger went ahead.
Seifert told the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that LSE shareholders appeared to be convinced that a tie-up makes sense. 'These value-orientated shareholders are showing very clearly via the markets what they want - that the LSE be sold,' Seifert said.
LSE shares soared almost 26% yesterday, even though LSE management rejected Deutsche Boerse's offer of 530 pence per share in the hope that Frankfurt improve its bid.
Seifert said the bid this time round had much better chances of succeeding than the previous attempt four years ago under the ambitious, but ultimately doomed 'iX' merger project.
