This week sees the end of a six-month moratorium which has prevented New York-based stock exchange Nasdaq from bidding for the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in which it has a 25.3 per cent stake.
The Takeover Panel ban follows the LSE’s rebuff of its March takeover bid of 950p-a-share.
However, the US exchange is widely rumoured to have ruled out making a bid because the £12.43 per share minimum bid is too steep for the heavily-indebted Nasdaq.
“Nasdaq cannot afford the LSE at the moment,” one of its advisers told the Financial Mail.
It is thought that the company is hoping to sit tight and wait for shareholders to pressure the LSE into accepting a lower bid.
Many analysts believe an LSE takeover is inevitable. The most likely alternative to Nasdaq – and the rumoured preference of LSE chef executive Clara Furse – is a merger with a Far East Exchange.
“Our outlook is very international,” said a spokesman.
The market suggests investors may be holding tight for a dip in the absence of a bid or a deal, indicated by 12 per cent of LSE shares being the subject of stock borrowing.

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