Deutsche Boerse CEO set to run merged LSE company - sources

By Andreas Kröner

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse Chief Executive Carsten Kengeter would run the day-to-day operations of a new company formed by a possible merger with the London Stock Exchange, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The two companies announced on Tuesday they were exploring a merger and that the board of the holding company would be composed of an equal number of LSE Group and Deutsche Boerse directors.

Deutsche Boerse and LSE declined to comment on specifics.

The combined company is likely to have a two-tier structure, with an executive board and a non-executive board, one of the sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Under this structure, Kengeter will chair the executive board, taking on a role akin to a chief executive, they added.

The talks are still going on and no final decisions have been taken, the source said, adding that the head of the non-executive board is likely to be from the LSE, probably Donald Brydon, who is currently LSE's chairman.

No decision has yet been taken about where the holding company will be based. London or Amsterdam are the most likely locations, the source said, adding that a formal merger offer is unlikely to come within the next 10 days.

(Additional reporting by Rama Raman and Edward Taylor; Writing by Jonathan Gould and Edward Taylor; Editing by Alexander Ratz and Alexander Smith)