Deutsche Boerse and London Stock Exchange (which also controls Borsa Italiana) announce that they have reached an agreement for the merger. At the end of the operation, 54,4% of the new combination will be held by Deutsche Boerse, 45,6% by LSE. CEO will be the number one of Deutsche Boerse Caster Kengeter. Donald Brydon, president of LSE, will remain president of the new group that will be born from the alliance. According to the two companies, the operation will be able to create synergies for 450 million euros, with an impact also on the future generation of revenues, three years after the completion of the merger.
The press release with the announcement of the operation that will give birth to a true colossus of the all-European financial markets was released at 8,25 London time. "As expected - continues the note from the LSE - the London Stock Exchange group and Deutsche Boerse have announced that they have reached an agreement for the merger, after starting talks last month".
Xavier Rolet, chief executive of LSE who will step down when the deal is completed said he was "very pleased" to be able to announce the proposed merger and would "100%" support the deal as he believes it is " absolutely the right time” to bring the operation to fruition.
The merger will be accomplished with the creation of a new holding company in the UK which will acquire the LSE group through a step-by-step scheme. LSE Group shareholders will get 0.4421 of a share in the new company for every LSE share they own. This means that they become 45,6% owners of the new group against 54,4% of Deutsche Boerse shareholders.
Both companies have confirmed that London and Frankfurt will be maintained and that both English and German souls will be equally represented on the board. During a conference call with journalists on Wednesday morning, the LSE and the DB underlined that they foresee a "successful operation", regardless of the outcome of the British referendum in June on the permanence of the UK in the European Union.
