Deutsche Börse’s boss seeks deal to end LSE merger investigation

Deutsche Börse chief Carsten Kengeter’s lawyers are thrashing out a possible deal with prosecutors to ditch a London Stock Exchange-linked insider trading probe against him.

Kengeter was put under investigation by German public prosecutors in February over buying 4.5 million (£3.9 million) Deutsche shares, two months before a tie-up with the LSE was announced.

Prosecutors are probing whether Deutsche failed to tell investors about the deal in a timely manner. In return for the action being dropped, Deutsche may have to pay a fine of up to 10 million for unveiling the LSE too late, German daily Handelsblatt reported.

The £21 billion merger between Deutsche and the LSE collapsed in March after the EU competition watchdog vetoed the deal.

Kengeter, who also lectures at the London School of Economics, has always denied wrongdoing. Last week he said he was fully co-operating with the prosecutors’ office, adding he believed the allegations would be “unfounded”.

Deutsche declined to comment.

LSE chief Xavier Rolet on Monday warned that the Brexit-related battle for the euro-clearing market would raise the cost of trading by 100 billion.

Writing in The Times, he said Continental plans to shrink London’s 850 billion-a-day euro clearing markets would lead to increased levels of systemic risk.