The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is the largest equities exchange in Europe and is beaten worldwide for the number of companies listed only by the Nasdaq. However, it is not in a good strategic position at the moment, thanks to the failure of its merger with Deutsche Borse, an embarrassing takeover attempt by OM and losing out on the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange to Euronext.
In contrast, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
is at the core of Deutsche Borse, Europe’s largest exchange operator. The brainchild of Werner Seifert, the revamped Deutsche Borse now includes Eurex, the biggest derivatives market in the world and the clearing and settlement firm Clearstream International. Deutsche Borse is the complete package of trade processing services. By combining technologies and businesses it has driven down costs and raised profitability. After floating in 2001, it still leads the market, with capitalisation in excess of $4.6bn.
