Nasdaq tweaks OMX bid

Nasdaq is trying to persuade major OMX shareholders to accept a bid consisting entirely of shares. A number of owners, including the Wallenberg family's holding company Investor, are thought to have agreed to such an arrangement, the Financial Times reports.

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By encouraging OMX's largest owners to accept payment in shares, Nasdaq will be able to make cash available for its hedge fund investors.

Hedge funds, which currently own around 25 percent of shares in OMX, are primarily interested in cash rather than influence. As such, they are more likely to be tempted by Borse Dubai's cash only offer.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Nasdaq CEO Rob Greifeld said that Investor and Nordea bank had both agreed to accept a bid consisting only of shares and that other investors were likely to follow suit.

By freeing up cash element for hedge fund investors, Nasdaq's bid could begin to mount a serious challenge to Borse Dubai, he said.

Greifeld also added however that Nasdaq may need to increase its bid and that he would reflect on ways in which to do so next week.