Deutsche Börse Becomes Majority Shareholder in Tradegate Exchange to be Formed in Berlin

Expansion of stock exchange offering for private investors/ Deutsche Börse reinforces its position in European retail business

Deutsche Börse is to acquire a 75-percent holding plus one share in Tradegate Exchange GmbH, Berlin, with effect from 8 January 2010. Tradegate Exchange GmbH operates the off-exchange trading platform (MTF) TRADEGATE, which has been running successfully since 2001. At the beginning of 2010 it will commence operation as a stock exchange; the former MTF TRADEGATE will receive the status of “Regulated market within the meaning of MiFID”, becoming Tradegate Exchange.

Deutsche Börse AG will also acquire a 5-percent share in Tradegate AG Wertpapierhandelsbank, one of the market makers in TRADEGATE/the future Tradegate Exchange. Deutsche Börse will also have the option of gradually increasing its share in Tradegate AG to a maximum of 20 percent.

Deutsche Börse is investing an amount in the single-figure million euro range for its share in Tradegate Exchange GmbH and the initial 5-percent holding in Tradegate AG.

“The transition of the successful MTF TRADEGATE into a regulated trading venue as Tradegate Exchange is an opportunity for Deutsche Börse to employ its core competency and to operate an additional stock exchange in Germany. Our common objective is to expand retail business across Europe,” said Frank Gerstenschläger, member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse AG and responsible for the Xetra business area.

“The market share of the MTF TRADEGATE has grown continuously and significantly in recent years. This shows that our strategy to develop a trading platform in tune with the needs of private investors has borne fruit. We are pursuing further growth of the platform into the rest of Europe with Deutsche Börse’s renown and strength in terms of distribution,” said Holger Timm, CEO of Tradegate AG.

Deutsche Börse’s majority interest in Tradegate Exchange GmbH will serve to expand its trading offering for private investors and strengthen its position in the European retail market; with the Tradegate Exchange, it will be operating a platform which offers particularly online brokers new trading functions, longer trading hours and innovative order types at attractive prices.

About TRADEGATE/Tradegate Exchange
TRADEGATE is a successful off-exchange trading platform specializing in executing orders from private investors. Currently, predominantly online banks from Germany, France and Austria are connected. TRADEGATE provides information for private investors on the current market situation and enables them to trade in selected equities, bonds and funds at the latest prices every trading day from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., thus also outside the trading hours of other German exchanges. Orders are usually executed immediately and in full via TRADEGATE. It has the lowest transaction fees of all European trading platforms. At present, 3,500 equities, 1,500 bonds and 500 funds can be traded on this platform. As a market specialist on the Tradegate Exchange, Tradegate AG is active in all share classes and ETFs. Other market specialists quote bonds and funds.

The exchange supervisory authority for the federal state of Berlin has given permission to the TRADEGATE operator, Tradegate Exchange GmbH, to establish and operate a stock exchange. Therefore, the off-exchange platform TRADEGATE will become Tradegate Exchange with effect from the beginning of 2010, with the status of a “regulated market within the meaning of MiFID”.

About Deutsche Börse
Deutsche Börse Group is one of the world’s leading service providers for the securities industry with a product and service offering for issuers, investors, intermediaries and data vendors. The Group covers the entire process chain from trading, through clearing, to settlement and securities custody. Furthermore, Deutsche Börse offers market data, indices and analyses and is a service provider for the development and operation of IT systems. Deutsche Börse Group is one of the world’s largest stock exchange organizations.

About Xetra
The Xetra business unit of Deutsche Börse provides listing, trading and clearing services for issuers, intermediaries and investors. Xetra provides efficient access to the capital markets, supports the latest trading techniques and provides an ever-growing range of tradable securities. The trading system of the same name sets the highest standards in terms of reliability, security, speed and innovation. Xetra offers the highest liquidity, transparency and cost efficiency to more than 250 European banks and brokerage firms from 19 countries. Approximately 400,000 securities are currently traded using Xetra technology, more than on any other trading platform.

FWB® and Xetra® are registered trademarks of Deutsche Börse AG.
TRADEGATE® is a registered trademark of Tradegate Exchange GmbH.