Deutsche Boerse signals HQ may be outside UK after LSE deal

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) signalled on Tuesday that the headquarters of the European giant to be created from its merger with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE.L) may have to be outside the United Kingdom after the Brexit vote.

A referendum committee, involving representatives of both partners, will make recommendations to ensure that a merged group will meet "all regulatory requirements" to get the transaction approved and achieve its commercial objectives, Deutsche Boerse said.

However, Germany's financial market regulator said last week that London could not host the headquarters of the merged group once Britain leaves the EU, and nor could it remain a centre for trading in euros.

German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that Deutsche Boerse was telling shareholders it was looking into the option of a 'double holding' with seats in Frankfurt and London. The paper did not say where it got the information.

At Deutsche Boerse, nobody was immediately available to comment on the report.

Despite the uncertainty created by last month's British vote to leave the European Union, LSE shareholders on Monday approved the $27 billion merger with its German counterpart.

LSEG Chairman Donald Brydon told investors on Monday that Britain would remain in the EU for at least another two years, during which there was ample time to work out the "optimal structure" for the deal.

Britain is seeking to limit the financial fallout of the decision to withdraw from the EU, fearing that it will weaken its leading role as a financial centre.

Deutsche Boerse is also asking its shareholders to back the deal -- the third attempt by the LSE to merge with the German exchange operator in some 16 years -- in a postal vote that closes on July 12.

Fund management group Jupiter said on Tuesday it backed the merger and that it was not important where the holding company of the enlarged group was located.

"I support the deal. Jupiter has already tendered some Deutsche Boerse shares and I expect that we will tender all of our shares before July 12," said Alexander Darwall, Jupiter's head of strategy.

Jupiter Asset Management has a 3.5 percent stake in Deutsche Boerse, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data.

Deutsche Boerse also said in its statement on Tuesday that the work of the referendum committee on making the merger Brexit-proof may take months to complete.

"Whether the U.K. is just European or a member of the EU, the merger will create a globally competitive, industry-defining market infrastructure group at the service of European industry," Deutsche Boerse said in a statement.

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Andreas Kröner; Editing by Georgina Prodhan/Ruth Pitchford)