UNICREDIT S.P.A. 
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Theodor Weimer, the head of Unicredit's (>> UniCredit SpA) German unit, is a serious contender to take the helm of Deutsche Boerse (>> Deutsche Boerse), a person familiar with the search said on Wednesday.
The German stock exchange operator is hoping to fill the role by the end of the year. The current CEO, Carsten Kengeter, is stepping down amid an ongoing insider trading investigation, though he denies wrongdoing.
Deutsche Boerse and HypoVereinsbank, Unicredit's Germany unit based in Munich, declined to comment.
Bloomberg News earlier reported that Weimer was the leading candidate for the spot.
Deutsche Boerse shares rose 0.4 percent and were the top gainers in the blue-chip DAX <.GDAXI>, which fell 1.2 percent.
Weimer, a former investment banker, has been chief of Unicredit's German operations since 2009. His contract was renewed this year through the end of 2020.
Joachim Faber, chairman of Deutsche Boerse's supervisory board, has said the ideal candidate would have the following: German as a native language, experience as an entrepreneur, good contacts with politicians, and a high degree of knowledge about regulation.
He said the candidate need not necessarily have experience of financial exchanges.
The chief of Deutsche Boerse has been one of Germany's highest paid executives in recent years.
The exchange operator hopes to position itself to profit from Britain's decision to leave the European Union by capturing a portion of the euro clearing market that is currently centred in London.
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Andreas Framke; Writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Sabine Wollrab and Georgina Prodhan)
