The “giant game of Twister goes on”, says Lex. Borse Dubai has allowed Nasdaq a free run at OMX. The structure is “mind-boggling”, but Borse Dubai will, in effect, buy OMX then immediately sell it to Nasdaq, on the US exchange’s original terms for its cash-and-stock offer. In return, Nasdaq will sell Dubai a 28% stake in the LSE, while taking about a third of DIFX, Dubai’s international exchange. This complicated knot of bodies is being presented as a strategic alliance to forge the first global exchange platform. Look a little closer and it’s the old two-way merger of Nasdaq and OMX with a third-party grafted on. It’s an elegant outcome for Nasdaq which demonstrates the chutzpah of Bob Greifeld, its chief executive.
