BaFin, the German regulator, has cleared rebel hedge funds of acting in concert when they blocked Deutsche Börse's bid for the London Stock Exchange and ousted its chairman and chief executive. The move frees the funds from having to launch a takeover bid for the German exchange.

The investors together hold more than 30% of the exchange's shares and under German law would have been forced to launch a full takeover offer had they been found to have been acting together.