Deutsche Börse wants to buy Simcorp.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt/Main Deutsche Börse is about to make the largest takeover in its history: The Dax group wants to acquire the Danish financial software company Simcorp for 3.9 billion euros, as the Hessian company announced on Thursday. CEO Theodor Weimer spoke of a “quantum leap”.
“We have significantly expanded our data and analysis capacities in recent years, with a strategic focus on driving the development of the investment management business further,” said Weimer. “Simcorp is an excellent fit for us, both strategically and in terms of corporate culture.”
With the takeover, Germany’s largest stock exchange operator would significantly expand its data analytics business and become less dependent on fluctuations in the markets. Weimer is also hoping for a significant increase in the share price in the medium term because the data business is valued more highly on the market than other business areas of the company.
In the short term, however, skepticism prevailed on the market. Deutsche Börse shares fell as much as 6.6 percent, the biggest intraday decline since March 2020. Simcorp shares, on the other hand, shot up almost 40 percent on the market open.
The takeover will only take place if more than 50 percent of Simcorp shareholders accept the offer for 735 Danish kroner. The offer is 39 percent higher than SimCorp’s closing price on Wednesday. The acquisition is to be financed with cash and debt.
US subsidiaries could be taken public
Simcorp’s senior management has agreed to unanimously recommend the acquisition if it is presented in an offer document approved by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority. This is supposed to happen in May. The deal should be completed by the end of the third quarter.
If the takeover succeeds, it would be the most expensive in the history of Deutsche Börse. The largest purchase to date was the acquisition of the US options exchange in 2007 for $2.8 billion.
In addition to the record-breaking acquisition, Deutsche Börse also announced that it would combine its data and analytics subsidiary Qontigo with voting rights advisor ISS, which it also owns. The merger of the two US companies had been planned for some time and would ensure greater efficiency and additional growth, said Weimer.
The financial investor General Atlantic, which already has a stake in Qontigo, will make fresh funds available as part of the merger, Weimer said. He is said to hold around 20 percent of the merged subsidiary. In the medium term, an IPO of the subsidiary is being examined, in the context of which General Atlantic could then exit.
Through the acquisition of Simcorp and the merger of Qontigo and ISS, Deutsche Börse expects synergies of EUR 90 million per year, of which EUR 55 million should come from savings. Before that, however, there are one-time costs of 100 million euros.
Deutsche Börse is postponing the announcement of the new “Horizon 2026” strategy, which was actually planned for this summer, until autumn. The group hopes to have completed the Simcorp acquisition by then and then be able to present detailed targets for the coming years.
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