Deep Throat’s advice to political reporter Bob Woowdward to "follow the money" is as pertinent today as it was at the time of the Watergate scandal.

Following the money trail in the London Stock Exchange saga leads directly to the doors of powerful hedge funds, which have spearheaded the shareholder revolt against Deutsche Börse’s 530 pence a share offer. The German exchange has been forced to beat a humiliating – if temporary - retreat from London as dissident shareholder’s voice their opposition to the takeover proposals. The Börse instead has sought to buy off disgruntled investors with the promise of a significant share buyback.

In the wake of the Börse’s withdrawal, shares in the Frankfurt-based exchange have continued to rise, while LSE stock has plummeted. Hedge funds which went long on the Deutsche Börse and shorted stock in the LSE – selling shares they do not own in the hope of buying them back at a cheaper price – stand to make a pretty penny from the developments.

Of course Atticus Capital and TCI Fund Management, the funds leading the shareholder revolt, have every right to question whether the Börse’s bid proposals offer investors value for money. But in all the noise generated by the dissenting voices, market-led views of the case for exchange consolidation - and the different methods of attaining it - have largely been drowned out.

Deutsche Börse and rival LSE suitor Euronext hold contrasting positions on the optimum model for cross-border share trading in a unified European market.

It's time that market users put aside their role as shareholders and had their say as future customers. The fate of the London Stock Exchange, and by implication the future of trading, clearing, and settlement in Europe, is too important to be dictated by the needs of profit-taking investors.