Deutsche Börse could be heading for another confrontation with TCI and Atticus, the two hedge funds, that are the German groupâ??s biggest shareholders.

Three years ago a confrontation between Deutsche Börse and the two hedgefunds led to the ousting of chairman Rolf Breuer and chief executive Werner Seifert.

At a meeting in London on Tuesday, Kurt Viermetz, chairman, and Reto Francioni, chief executive, told TCIâ??s founder Chris Hohn that they wanted to keep the group together, rejecting his ideas for reform. They also rejected the hedge fundâ??s demand for a new chairman.

TCI has told Deutsche Börse it should explore options including spinning off Clear-stream, the clearing and settlement operation already segregated from the Börse; merging or selling the entire business; or finding a merger partner for Eurex, the futures exchange it owns with the Swiss stock exchange, or for the cash equities business, the exchange that is the heart of the operation.

Hessische Börsenaufsicht, the regional stock exchange watchdog, already warned that the company could not sell its cash equity market as it would then lose its licence for the business.