Deutsche Boerse boosts majority for LSE tie-up

[FRANKFURT] Shareholders in German stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse have accepted the firm's planned merger with the London Stock Exchange by a large majority, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Deutsche Boerse said investors holding 89 percent of its capital had agreed to the deal by August 12 - a sign of "clear support" for the merger, chief executive Carsten Kengeter said.

Shareholders with 63 per cent of the firm's capital had already backed the merger by a late July deadline, before the offer was extended for another two weeks.

The European Commission and national market authorities must green-light the merger before it can go ahead.

"We will now focus on achieving the necessary regulatory and anti-trust approvals," Mr Kengeter said.

Britain's June vote to leave the European Union has complicated matters, as the headquarters of the combined companies was originally supposed to be based in London.

That option looks more distant in the face of resistance from German regulators.

Deutsche Boerse said last week it planned to finalise the merger in the first half of 2017.

AFP