INTERVIEW: Deutsche Boerse Submits Offer For Warsaw Rival
November 06 2009 - 6:55AM
Dow Jones News
German exchange operator Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE) Friday made
a bid to acquire a majority stake in the Warsaw Stock Exchange,
Deutsche Boerse's head of Eastern European business development
told Dow Jones Newswires.
The Warsaw Stock Exchange, the largest of Eastern European
exchange operators by trading volume and market value of listed
companies, is an "attractive investment" given the opportunities
offered by the Polish market, said Jochen Biedermann.
Biedermann said Deutsche Boerse was interested in acquiring
between a stake of between 51% to around 74% in the Warsaw exchange
from its majority shareholder, the Polish government. The value of
the bid is in the millions of euros range, he said.
Deutsche Boerse's bid also includes suggestions for what a deal
agreement could look like and potential future plans for the
exchange operator, Biedermann said.
Cash and derivatives trading through the Polish exchange both
look attractive, Biedermann said. "We also have our own ideas about
new products," he added.
The Warsaw exchange is particularly attractive because of an
anticipated row of privatizations that would increase the number of
companies listed on the exchange. The Warsaw exchange has in recent
years already seen a broad jump in the number of listings.
Merging the Warsaw exchange's cash-trading system onto Xetra's
electronic trading platform would benefit Deutsche Boerse by giving
it direct access to Polish traders and brokers, Biedermann said.
"We're thinking about importing [the Xetra platform] but that must
be agreed upon with market participants. Its not something we want
to force," Biedermann said.
Aside from traditional stock exchanges, the Polish government
also asked brokers to buy a minority stake in the exchange.
If a deal with Deutsche Boerse is successful, Polish market
participants could win indirect influence in the Warsaw exchange's
activities by holding various board seats, Biedermann said.
Polish market participants have said they want to maintain
influence on the creation of new rules and products for the Warsaw
exchange in the event of a takeover.
Deutsche Boerse's eye to the Polish trading market comes five
years after Poland entered the European Union and ahead of its
planned integration into the euro-zone economy.
The London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE.LN), NYSE Euronext
(NYX) and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) were all originally invited
to make bids for between 51% and 73.82% of the Warsaw Stock
Exchange. The London Stock Exchange isn't expected to make an
offer, however, a person familiar with the matter said last
month.
-By Ruediger Schoss; Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 515;
ruediger.schoss@dowjones.com
(Marynia Kruk in Warsaw contributed to this article.)
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