TCI Targets Chair of German Exchange

The Children’s Investment Fund (TCI), a London-based shareholder activist, has turned its sights on the chairman of German stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse. TCI has demanded an emergency shareholder meeting to seek the immediate removal of  Kurt Viermetz from his position.

TCI—along with Atticus Capital, another investor—has recently expressed the desire to shake up the German exchange in order to create new shareholder value. A statement released by both investors last month said that they would seek “to change some of the members of the supervisory board in order to ensure leadership and urgency regarding any appropriate options.”

In a statement, the exchange acknowledged the requested meeting without addressing its intentions: “If the executive board, which is solely competent to decide on the calling of an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, receives [necessary regulatory documents], it will assess whether this demand is legal and subsequently decide on it in accordance with its duties.” Deutsche Boerse has seen its share price fall 50 percent this year.

TCI last made headlines in its bid to unseat five of the directors from the board of CSX, an American railway company. After months of litigation, the investor succeeded in replacing four seats on the company's board.