LSE sees off Deutsche Boerse

Is the defeat of the bid by Deutsche Boerse for the London Stock Exchange really a triumph for shareholder democracy at the Financial Times claims?

Everyone familiar with the listed sector in Germany will be aware that shareholder groups such as DSW have for a long time been in the forefront of the fight for fair treatment of shareholders.

The sudden emergence of a new and vociferous group of 'activist' shareholders has in our opinion not really improved the situation of the public shareholders.

Yes, a battle has been won. But on what principle? Has anyone really objectively analysed the arguments for and against a bid? Have the leaders of the 'coup', such as Atticus or TCI and their followers such as Fidelity or Assicurazioni Generali really been guided by the principle that major acquisitions should be approved by the shareholders as a whole?

Only then could we say that a victory has been won for shareholder democracy. Since the LSE bid came to light a number of major acquisitions and mergers have been announced. It would be desirable that they would receive the same amount of scrutiny and passionate argument that was given to the LSE/DB bid.

It would also make interesting reading to have the disclose the dealing records of the major participants in the discussion for and against the LSE/DB combination. If anyone had bought the DB shares shortly after the announcement of the bid, should