NASDAQ Stock Market Inc and Borse Dubai, competing to buy Nordic exchange operator OMX AB, agreed to give NASDAQ control of OMX, while Dubai gets a stake in the US bourse and a holding in London Stock Exchange Group Plc.
NASDAQ will also make an investment in the Dubai International Financial Exchange, it said in a statement yesterday.
Dubai will in return get a 19.99 percent stake in NASDAQ, restricted to 5 percent of voting rights, as well as a 28 percent of the London Stock Exchange from NASDAQ.
"It solves a good portion of their problem by getting that LSE stake off their books and freeing up capital, while at the same time removing an obstacle to their acquisition of OMX," said William Cline, chief executive officer of Acai Solutions LLC, a New York-based consultant on capital markets, before the announcement.
"It strikes me as a sound strategic move," he said.
NASDAQ, led by chief executive officer Robert Greifeld, had made a cash-and-stock bid for OMX in May, an approach that was endorsed by OMX management under CEO Magnus Boecker.
Borse Dubai, headed by former OMX CEO Per Larsson, trumped NASDAQ's bid last month with an all-cash bid for OMX valued at 27.7 billion kronor (US$4.2 billion).
Dubai's bid for OMX threatened to foil NASDAQ's latest attempt to expand into Europe, after the US market failed to take over the LSE.
Greifeld redoubled efforts to gain control of OMX before shareholders could vote on Dubai's superior bid and last month opted to sell the LSE stake to focus on OMX instead.
NASDAQ is seeking a foothold in Europe to compete with bigger rival NYSE Euronext, which operates stock and derivatives exchanges on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
OMX would give NASDAQ control of seven Nordic and Baltic exchanges, where the value of shares traded daily has more than doubled since 2003.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
REGIONAL PEACE: The US is supporting Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities by providing the nation with defensive arms and services, as it aims to maintain cross-strait stability The US on Friday reiterated its support for Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities in a statement affirming its commitment to the Indo-Pacific region. The White House said that Washington has supported Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities through a range of security assistance authorities and resources, including the first-ever use of Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) for Taiwan, as well as International Military Education and Training (IMET). US President Joe Biden had identified the Indo-Pacific as the critical region for the future of the US and the world, it said. “In pursuit of regional peace, security and stability, we have reinvested in our defense
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
RSS