In May 2005, Deutsche Börse announced its intention to distribute around €1.5 billion to shareholders in the period through May 2007. In 2005, 10.6 million shares with a total value of €726.3 million were bought back and a dividend of €74.1 million was distributed in May 2005. In all, about €800 million was distributed to shareholders in financial year 2005. 5.9 million shares were cancelled before the AGM in May 2005 and 0.1 million shares were purchased by employees on 30 June 2005 as part of the Group Share Plan. The remaining 4.6 million shares were held in treasury as at 31 December 2005.
The ongoing capital management program aims not only to make the proposed dividend payment of €210.4 million for financial year 2005, but also to buy back more shares. Between 1 January and 31 March, 1.1 million shares with a total value of €104.7 million were bought back. The ongoing program will be managed on the basis of the company’s net tangible equity. Deutsche Börse Group will continue to assess its capital requirement on an ongoing basis as part of the regular planning process.
