Reports of Qatar bid for LSE
Qatar could make a £1bn (€1.47bn) swoop to buy almost a third of the London Stock Exchange, it was reported today.
The Qatari Investment Authority (QIA) has approached investment bank UBS, which is handling the sale of US exchange Nasdaq’s 31% stake in the LSE after its failed hostile takeover bid earlier this year, the Sunday Times said.
The QIA’s reported offer comes as another Qatar-backed investment vehicle, Delta Two, continues talks over a potential £10.6 billion takeover of supermarket giant Sainsbury’s.
The Qataris could be willing to pay up to £15 a share for the 31% stake, valuing the whole LSE at nearly £3 billion, and has not ruled out a full bid for the London exchange, the newspaper says.
But the company is also said to be facing rivalry from Temasek, the Singapore-based investment fund, which has also expressed an interest in Nasdaq’s LSE stake.
The latest move comes amid a wave of consolidation among global exchanges.
Nasdaq is selling the LSE stake to fight off Dubai-based exchange, Borse Dubai, from muscling in on its 3.7 billion US dollar (£1.85bn) agreed deal to buy Nordic exchange operator OMX.
Borse Dubai, which harbours ambitions of becoming the world’s third-biggest exchange, has made a higher 4 billion US dollar (£2bn) offer for OMX.
Nasdaq announced its intention to sell the LSE stake, worth more than £800 million, nearly two weeks ago.
The New York bourse failed to win backing from LSE shareholders for its £2.7 billion hostile bid in February.
Nasdaq is expected to announce the sale of its stake before the end of October, as its holding will be reduced to 22% early next month when the LSE issues new shares to finance its £1.1 billion takeover of Italy’s Borsa Italiana.
Nasdaq’s defeat in its bid to take over the LSE marked the second time in less than a year that the London exchange had successfully fended off takeover approaches from its US rival.
Nasdaq and the LSE declined to comment on the Sunday Times story, while the QIA was unavailable for comment.
