Deutsche Boerse could become target if LSE deal fails -CEO

* CME could bid for Deutsche Boerse (LSE: 0H3T.L - news) if LSE deal flops

* ICE could renew approach for LSE in November

* D. Boerse to seek new partners if LSE merger fails

* D. Boerse CEO says France attacks LSE deal (Adds CEO's comments on France, Euronext (Lisbon: ENX.LS - news) )

FRANKFURT, May 31 (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse could become a takeover target if its planned $30 billion tie-up with London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) were to fail, the German exchange operator's chief executive said.

Chicago-based rival CME Group (Kuala Lumpur: 7018.KL - news) , whose $33 billion market capitalisation is twice that of Deutsche Boerse's, could become a suitor, Carsten Kengeter told the ICFW Frankfurt international business journalists' club.

"I don't really think this will crystallise at the moment but they could articulate it if our merger (with LSE) is unsuccessful," Kengeter said in remarks released on Tuesday.

In 2013, CME had sent out feelers on a deal that were rebuffed by Deutsche Boerse, sources familiar with the situation have told Reuters.

CME declined to comment.

Deutsche Boerse and LSE aim to win shareholder backing for their merger in July and hope to have regulatory approval in time to close the deal in the first quarter of 2017.

Since taking the top job at Deutsche Boerse last June, Kengeter has been restructuring the exchange operator to bring more dynamism to the group, which has slipped down the rankings of global players over the last ten years as rivals merged.

Kengeter said they had looked at all the possible combinations in the world for Deutsche Boerse over the last year and the merger with LSE Group proved the most valuable.

But should the LSE deal fail, Deutsche Boerse would need to look around for other partners, Kengeter said.

There is still a chance that Atlanta (BSE: ATLANTA.BO - news) -based Intercontinental Exchange Inc could return to disrupt the merger, after it shelved the idea of launching a rival bid for LSE earlier this month.

Takeover rules in Britain prevent ICE from renewing an approach for six months.

"The ICE now has the chance to prepare itself if it wants to step back onto the stage in November," Kengeter said.

FRANCE

Kengeter also said Paris-based exchange operator Euronext was using the French government to attack the Deutsche Boerse and LSE deal.

France's Finance and Economy ministers have said the Deutsche Boerse-LSE merger raises potential competition issues and could have an impact on prospects for financing the real economy in France and Europe.

"The French state has a 6 percent stake in Euronext, so a certain conflict is visible," Kengeter said at the ICFW event.

Euronext, which operates the Paris bourse as well as stock exchanges in Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon, joined forces with the New York Stock Exchange in 2007. The combined group was bought in 2013 by Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE - news) , which then sold off Euronext.

Euronext has a market capitalisation of about 2.7 billion euros ($3.01 billion), according to Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) data, and no clearing operations of its own.

"When it comes to exchanges, Paris has met a fate you would not necessarily describe as positive," Kengeter said.

The combination of LSE and Deutsche Boerse would link Frankfurt and London, Europe's biggest capital market hub. It would also enhance volumes in Deutsche Boerse's clearing and settlement business and securities custody services.

Kengeter said the French exchange operator would be pleased to have such a link to London. "Paris would celebrate if our project were to fail," he said.

Euronext was not immediately available to comment. ($1 = 0.8978 euros) (Reporting by Jonathan Gould, Andreas Kroener and Alexander Huebner, Additional reporting by Maya Nikolaeva in Paris and Chuck Mikolajczak in New York; Editing by Arno Schuetze and Jane Merriman)