Rolet quits the stock exchange

After 9 years, 1 takeover row and £13bn growth

THE London Stock Exchange’s boss is leaving after his megamerger plans were wrecked by an insider trading probe, stubborn Brussels regulators and greedy German politicians.

Xavier Rolet championed a £21bn takeover of LSE by Frankfurt-based rival Deutsche Boerse – ignoring British critics who warned the deal was against the national interest.

LSE eventually pulled out after refusing demands from Brussels competition authorities to sell a key business in Italy.

Frenchman Rolet, 57, who owns 74 acres of vineyards in Provence, has announced he will leave next year after a successor has been found. The boss has run LSE for eight years so far and is popular with shareholders, boosting its value from £800m when he took over to nearly £13.4bn. But the collapse of the Deutsche deal is likely to cast a shadow over his reign.

When the takeover plans were announced in March last year, analysts gave them a high chance of suc- cess and a slick lobbying operation was launched to counter sceptics.

But the mood changed dramatically after the Brexit vote, as German politicians demanded the merged firm shift its headquarters to Frankfurt amid a clamour to steal business from the City.

Regional prosecutors then launched an insider trading probe into Deutsche’s boss Carsten Kengeter, over 60,000 shares worth £4.1m which he bought days before the merger was made public. Kengeter denies any wrongdoing and the inves- tigation is continuing. LSE pulled the plug in March, citing unacceptable demands from the European Commission to sell a trading platform in Italy.

LSE insiders said that Rolet’s departure was announced early so that the board has time to consider a successor.