Saturday 30 April 2016 12:44 pm

Deutsche Boerse forced to retract and clarify executive statements on London Stock Exchange merger, Intercontinental Exchange and Brexit

Deutsche Boerse has been forced to clarify and retract comments made by executives in relation to its proposed merger with the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The German exchange has taken action after the Takeover Panel took issue with statements on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Brexit and the benefits of the LSE merger.

The LSE also clarified comments made by its chief executive, Xavier Rolet, earlier this week.

These comments also related to ICE, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, which is currently considering disrupting the merger by launching a takeover bid for the LSE.

Retractions and clarifications

In an interview with Euro am Sonntage, published on 16 April, Deutsche Boerse's chief financial offer, Gregor Pottmeyer, said: “Brexit would be a risk for US exchanges which might consider submitting a counter-offer for LSE. In contrast to us, in the event of a Brexit, these exchanges would be left without a liquidity bridge into the EU.”

The company said in a statement last night that these were Pottmeyer's “own views and assessment”.

In an interview with Der Tagesspiegel, published on 17 April, Deutsche Boerse chief executive Carsten Kengeter said: “A merger between London and Frankfurt will create a highly profitable business.”

The company said that, following consultation with the Takeover Panel, it had been asked to retract this forward-looking statement.

Finally, earlier this week, when publishing its first-quarter results, Deutsche Boerse published a quote from Kengeter saying: “Since the announcement of our plans we have received support from various stakeholders that the merger is the right step.”

Following consultation with the Takeover Panel, Deutsche Boerse said it had been asked to retract this statement also.