Nasdaq suffered a resounding defeat in its hostile bid for the London Stock Exchange on Saturday, winning just 0.41 pct of acceptances for its offer for Europe's largest share market.
Nasdaq, which already owns around 28.75 percent of the LSE's shares, had offered 1,243 pence a share or 2.7 billion pounds in total. It needed to gain just over 50 percent of shareholder acceptances.
The London Stock Exchange, which has seen off four takeover attempts in the last two years, said it would issue a statement shortly. Under UK takeover rules Nasdaq cannot bid for another 12 months.
Nasdaq said it stood by its view that 1,243 pence was a fair price, given increased competition in the industry.
'We are naturally disappointed at this outcome as we remain of the view that the final offer represented a full and fair price for LSE shareholders,' Nasdaq CEO Robert Greifeld said in a statement. 'However, this disappointment is tempered by the knowledge that we remained true to our value case.'
LSE shares closed at 1,282 pence on Friday, a 3 percent premium to Nasdaq's offer.
Speculation now falls on what Nasdaq intends to do with its 30 percent stake, which on average -- taking into account the foreign exchange hedge on its investment and the LSE's share buyback -- cost it around 1,100p per share.
© Graham Bishop
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