At least 60 percent of the German Stock Exchange shareholders had to agree to make the proposed merger happen. Till Monday noon, the percentage of supporters was 58. Hence the decision was previously about to be tight. “I support the shareholder’s decision because both sides will benefit from the outcome”, says Prof Reint E. Gropp, president of IWH. “After Britain’s decision to leave the European Union (EU), certain financial transactions might have to be executed within the Euro area – which will be advantageous for Frankfurt.” The new trading company however will be headquartered in London, Gropp predicts. “London’s size, its human capital and its regulatory environment are fare more important arguments for a financial center than the membership in an economic association,” he explains. “As a Frankfurt patriot I would prefer Frankfurt but London is and will stay Europe’s financial center and will hence become the headquarter of the new business.” Meanwhile politics should not take the Brexit decision as an excuse to jeopardize this reasonable fusion, Gropp says. “Rather they should consider the advantages of the cooperation – the advantages for both sides.”