A drip-feed of statements from Deutsche Börse about London’s waning influence fuelled growing unease in the City about the tie-up, a source said.
Deutsche Börse’s chief executive Carsten Kengeter (pictured) sparked speculation this month that London could lose some key roles when he said the exchange would create 400 new jobs, 300 of them in Frankfurt.
A report commissioned by Deutsche Börse published in January claiming that the German city would be the big winner from the deal is also said to have put the LSE on edge.
The Brexit vote has triggered fears that Frankfurt will emerge as a potential rival to take City of London banking jobs — an issue which has added concern to the exchange tie-up
LSE shares were flat today at 3091p and Deutsche Börse were up 0.97% at 80.48 (6856p).
The collapse of the deal has prompted speculation that the LSE could find another suitor in the form of New York Stock Exchange owner ICE.
The US giant had previously expressed an interest in buying the group although comments from ICE chief executive Jeff Sprecher earlier this month might pour cold water on the plan. He said he expected “that any such M&A focus will be towards smaller complementary transactions rather than the larger deals of past years”.
