In a bid to become the world’s first transatlantic stock exchange, NASDAQ has launched a bid of £2.7 billion ($5.1 billion) to acquire the famed London Stock Exchange, which is Europe’s biggest stock market.
NASDAQ has built up a 25 percent stake in the LSE following an unsuccessful bid previously. It said that it has already increased the share to 28.75 percent by buying an additional 7 million LSE shares at £12.43 per share at a cost of £87.8 million. NASDAQ says that it did this just to ensure that it has a strong hand if any counter bids are made.
In the event the bid ends up as a successful one, it will boost NASDAQ’s offerings and reach in highly competitive market.
NASDAQ has revealed that it has held discussions with the Financial Services Authority and said that it was confident that if the deal goes through, the LSE would be able to meet its regulatory obligations. In addition, the LSE would continue to have its own independent board with a majority of independent non-executive directors.
