Germans pressed to drop Stock Exchange bid

SHARES in the London Stock Exchange fell 12p to 572p today on news the Deutsche Borse takeover bid faces a challenge from the German exchange's own shareholders.

Some of them have called on it to drop the £1.3bn bid and launch a share buyback instead.

The Borse board was today expected to back chief executive Werner Seifert in the face of the possible shareholder revolt.

London-based TCI Fund Management, which claims to hold a 5% stake in the Borse, made formal moves at the weekend to requisition a shareholders' meeting to vote for the removal of its 21-strong supervisory board.

TCI, The Children's Investment fund, said the 530p-a-share offer for the London Stock Exchange 'exceeds the potential benefits of the acquisition'.

Fund founder Christopher Hohn said: 'We want to vote on the deal, let the shareholders speak. As shareholders, we own the company. We want a vote and, if they don't want to give us one, we will oppose them.'

TCI also has a sub-3% stake in potential rival bidder Euronext and indicated it may also oppose any move by the Paris-based organisation.

German political opposition appears to be growing against any suggestion a merged Borse and LSE would be based in London rather than Frankfurt. Financial spokesmen for the Greens and Christian Democrats called for a clear commitment for a German head office.