Deutsche Börse Announces Share Buy-back
March 23, 2005German stock exchange operator Deutsche Börse said late Tuesday it was planning to launch a share buy-back as it seeks to mend fences with rebel shareholders who forced the company to abandon its bid to buy the London Stock Exchange (LSE). It said in a statement that as part of a capital reorganization designed to improve efficiency, it would ask its next general
shareholders meeting in late May for authorization to buy-back up to 10 percent of its own stock. It added that it would also look at other options on capital management, which analysts suggested could be a reference to a future special dividend payment. Earlier this month, Deutsche Börse withdrew a bid worth just under two billion euros ($2.6 billion) for the LSE under pressure from its large investment fund owners and promised that a significant part of the funds involved would instead be returned to shareholders.