Deutsche Boerse CEO resigns amid insider trading probe

Deutsche Börse chief executive Carsten Kengeter will step down days after a German court refused to approve a settlement with prosecutors over allegations of insider trading. The company said in a statement on Thursday that it had accepted Mr Kengeter’s resignation with “regret.” He will leave at the end of the year.

The decision by the Frankfurt court earlier this week was a major blow to Deutsche Börse’s efforts to draw a line under the investigation into Mr Kengeter’s conduct on the eve of failed merger talks with the London Stock Exchange.

The decision came at an extraordinary meeting of the supervisory board. No successor was named, and Kengeter will stay on until there’s a transition plan. Kengeter and Deutsche Boerse have been dogged by an insider trading investigation since early this year.

The probe stems from shares Kengeter bought in December 2015, just months before formal merger talks with London Stock Exchange were announced. Kengeter and Deutsche Boerse have denied wrongdoing.

Kengeter’s position became more tenuous earlier this week when a Frankfurt court ruled against a settlement that would have helped him and Deutsche Boerse put the case behind them.

The resignation means two top exchanges will be seeking new chiefs. Last week, Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Group, said he would step down at the end of next year.
Deutsche Boerse and LSE, which had sought to merge, are now competing for market share in the run-up to Britain’s exit from the European Union.