Borse Dubai offer for Nordic markets to close

Borse Dubai's offer for Scandinavian stock exchange group OMX will close on 12 February.

Borse Dubai expects that its $4.9bn bid for the exchange, which has already been approved by the OMX board, will be accepted by its shareholders. The Dubai company must obtain approval from two-thirds of OMX shareholders for the acquisition to go ahead.

There has been speculation that, as part of the acquisition, Borse Dubai would swap its existing 28 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in return for shares in OMX owned by Qatar Investment Authority. However, a spokesman for Borse Dubai's parent company Dubai Group dismissed that suggestion.

Confirmation of the OMX acquisition is due on 15 February, after which Borse Dubai's deal with Nasdaq to swap its OMX holding for a 20 per cent stake in the US exchange can proceed.

As part of the deal, Nasdaq will make a financial investment in the DIFX and give it access to its technology. Nasdaq will appoint two members to the DIFX board.