US exchanges warned against Deutsche Boerse bid

Reuters: American stock exchanges should not attempt to buy Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE), the German exchange whose bid to merge with its London counterpart has just collapsed, a senior German politician said on Thursday.

Deutsche Boerse is not only a private company but it also has state responsibilities,” Thomas Schaefer, finance minister for the German state of Hesse, told reporters.

“The stock exchange authorities of Germany have to guarantee that if there is a change of owner, it has to guarantee that business has to continue uninterrupted as normal and it doesn’t matter who makes an offer,” Schaefer said.

Asked what his response would be if a U.S. exchange like ICE (ICE.N) stepped in to bid for Deutsche Boerse, Schaefer replied: “I would rather recommend colleagues in America not to attempt to do this.”

Hesse regulates the financial center in Frankfurt where Deutsche Boerse is based, and also has a veto over any merger involving the exchange.