Deutsche Boerse expels Wirecard from Germany's blue-chip index DAX
By Ludwig Burger
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Exchange operator Deutsche Boerse <DB1Gn.DE> will remove Wirecard <WDIG.DE>, the payments company that folded after an accounting scandal, from the DAX index of Germany's leading blue-chip stocks this month following an index rule change.
The exchange operator on Wednesday said it had opted for new rules - which were proposed last month - to allow for a DAX removal within two days in the case of an insolvency.
It said the new composition of the DAX would be published on Aug. 19 at 2000 GMT and take effect after market close on Aug. 21, effectively making it Wirecard's last day in the index.
A regular review of the index makeup would have taken until September.
In 2018 Wirecard, at the time a rising technology star, was promoted to the DAX index of 30 leading companies, displacing Commerzbank <CBKG.DE>.
But in a dramatic fall from grace, it filed for insolvency in June after disclosing a 1.9 billion euro hole in its accounts that auditor EY said stemmed from a sophisticated global fraud.
German prosecutors on Wednesday issued a wanted notice and appealed on television for help in tracking down Jan Marsalek, the former head of operations at Wirecard, for suspected embezzlement.
(Additional reporting by Hans Seidenstuecker; editing by Richard Pullin)
