FN: Deutsche Börse chief defends management record

14 February 2012

Reto Francioni, chief executive of Deutsche Börse, has defended the German exchange's management record following the collapse of its proposed merger with NYSE Euronext.

Francioni said that the exchange is in the process of determining whether to pursue legal action against the European Commission's decision, delivered two weeks ago, to block the merger. Francioni said that the exchange had continued to perform well despite the uncertainty over the merger, and had emerged as a major player in the global exchange sector.

He said: “At Deutsche Börse, the market capitalisation has doubled in this period to around €10 billion and in recent years Deutsche Börse has emerged as a leading European player. So our team can’t have performed that badly over the past few years. That is why I’d like to say – particularly in view of occasional but dissenting voices on the sidelines – that all of us are proud of what we and the company have achieved.”

Francioni rejected the suggestion that the management board had made mistakes during its pursuit of the transaction, and said that he anticipated no personal consequences as a result of the failed deal. He said: "Will there be personal consequences for me? No. The entire supervisory board fully supports me and the executive team. We did not make any mistakes...Everything went smoothly, up until Brussels stopped us."

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