Deutsche Börse in recent weeks proposed a joint holding company with headquarters in London and Frankfurt, a suggestion the LSE refused to consider.
Rolet hit out at the political jostling over the location of the exchange and said the deal had been “carefully calibrated” to ensure there was an equal split of power across Europe.
Politicians in Deutsche Börse’s home state of Hesse have demanded a headquarters in Frankfurt whereas British Eurosceptic MPs called for the deal to end over fears it would transfer too much power to Germany after Brexit.
“Hatred is rising everywhere across the world and what you can do against this much hatred is try to offer entrepreneurs and companies access to capital. This is a merger of equals — it is not a takeover. It’s not a critical mass move from one place to another. None of these things can be changed because you no longer have a balanced merger of equals and we revert to the traditional European passion for shifting things across the borders.”
