Wall Street Journal – Deutsche Börse AG’s supervisory board reaffirmed the stock-exchange operator’s business model Friday, defying activist hedge funds that had been seeking a change in strategy after this year’s steep fall in the company’s share price.
"The ongoing implementation and continuation of the existing strategy of the integrated business model including its further development [are] the best conditions to further increase value for all shareholders and customers of the group," Deutsche Börse said in a statement after an extraordinary supervisory board meeting.
The company has three main businesses: its Eurex derivatives arm, a share-trading platform called Xetra, and Clearstream, which handles post-trade processing.
Deutsche Börse shares rose 0.8% to €63.44 ($90.19) Friday. Its stock has fallen more than 50% this year.
The board meeting was convened after the company’s biggest investors — activist hedge funds The Children’s Investment Fund LLP and Atticus Capital LP, which together control 19% of votes in Deutsche Börse — joined forces to explore options for creating shareholder value at the company. The hedge funds haven’t presented any formal proposals.
