Deutsche Boerse boosts dividend

Deutsche Boerse has boosted its dividend to shareholders for 2004 by 27%, in an attempt to persuade investors that the company is really looking after them.

Deutsche Boerse already had already offered £1.3 billion for the London Stock Exchange, but a number of Deutsche Boerse stockholders had complained that any subsequent bid would likely overvalue the LSE and a take-over be detrimental to investor interests.

The move to raise the dividend is seen as a first step in allaying investor concerns. In a second move, Deutsche Boerse said that they plan to buy 200 million euros worth of its own stock in 2005.

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