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OMX board recommends acceptance of Borse Dubai bid

The board of OMX has advised shareholders to accept a bid from Emirates-based Borse Dubai and a subsequent planned acquisition by Nasdaq.

Published: 2 January 2008 10:04 CET

“The combination of OMX and Nasdaq will create a new leader in the exchange industry, establish a strong platform for future growth and reinforce the Nordic and Baltic region as a financial centre,” OMX chairman Urban Bäckström said in a statement.

The unanimous vote by the OMX board was “only guidance,” OMX spokesman Jonas Rodny told AFP, adding that the company’s shareholders, who will begin voting on the deal next Monday, should make their decision within about a month.

The announcement came just days after U.S. authorities gave the green light for Borse Dubai’s investment in Nasdaq, clearing the way for the U.S. high-tech stock market to combine with OMX.

Borse Dubai has made an all-cash 265 kronor ($49.95) per share offer for the Stockholm-based OMX.

Once Borse Dubai owns at least 67 percent of the shares of OMX, it will transfer all the stock it owns to Nasdaq. At the same time, Borse Dubai will make a minority investment in Nasdaq which in turn will take a minority holding in Dubai International Financial Exchange.

Borse Dubai is the holding company for Dubai International Financial Exchange and Dubai Financial Market.

The cash offer by Borse Dubai values OMX at 32 billion kronor ($4.9 billion).

OMX operates exchanges in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Reykjavik, Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius.

Following Wednesday’s announcement, OMX’s stock price was up 0.19 percent to 262 kronor on the Stockholm stock exchange, which as a whole was down 0.05 percent.

STOCKS

Stockholm stock market hits new all-time high

The Stockholm stock exchange closed at a record high on Wednesday, with the OMXS index climbing 1.4 percent to smash the previous record set in 2007.

Published: 15 January 2014 17:54 CET
Stockholm stock market hits new all-time high

The OMXS closed at 430.6, besting by more than three points the previous record of 427.2 set in July 2007.

"Finally, after more than five years, we've come up to the all-time high," Nordea stock strategist Martin Guri told the TT news agency.

The Stockholm stock market's advanced was in line with developments on other exchanges around the world, and can be attributed to a new World Bank forecast indicting advances in global economic growth. Strong retail sales statistics from the United States helped as well.

Guri rejected any notion that the Stockholm exchange's recent rise was any sort of bubble, but is simply a continuation of a strong 2013.

"We had the worst financial and economic crisis since the 1930s. Now we can say that we've left it behind and are moving on to the next chapter," he said.

"The market could rise somewhere between ten and 20 percent this year."

He added that there are many signs of economic improvements, and while economic growth may not be strong, risks have deteriorated, bolstering investor confidence. 

Guri cited central banks in the US, Japan, and the eurozone for stimulating stock market growth.

"They've promised financial markets they plan to keep interest rates low," he said.

Wednesday's OMXS rise was led by heavyweights such as retailer H&M and bank Nordea, which climbed 2.7 percent and three percent, respectively, as the Swedish fashion retailer reported better than expected sales results for December.

Other market winners on Wednesday included pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, telecom equipment maker Ericsson, and truck maker Scania, all of which rose by around two percent.

The Swedish krona weakened slightly against the dollar, which can now buy 6.48 kronor. The krona-euro exchange rate remain unchanged, at 8.80 kronor to the euro.

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