Dubai, Qatar get majority stake in LSE as Nasdaq sells remaining stake for $194 million

Mumbai: Nasdaq Stock Market Inc has sold its remaining 5.3 million shares in London Stock Exchange for a total of 95.8 million pounds ($194 million). Borse Dubai acquired 28 per cent stake from Nasdaq.

The stake was sold at 18 pounds a share. Nasdaq, which had owned about 31 per cent of the LSE, following a failed take over bid, also sold 56 million LSE shares.

Qatar acquired a 20 per cent stake in the bourse while Borse Dubai acquired 28 of the 31 per cent stake held by Nasdaq.

Qatar and Dubai are now the two biggest shareholders of the LSE, holding almost half of the world''s third-largest stock exchange.

Borse Dubai has agreed to buy a 28 per cent stake in the LSE from Nasdaq. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the investment unit of the Qatar government, bought 20.86 per cent of LSE, according to a regulatory document.

Nasdaq and Borse Dubai also agreed to buy stakes in one another in a deal to create a group of exchanges spanning the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Qatar and Dubai, two of the seven United Arab Emirates, are vying to become financial hubs for the Middle East region. A stake in the London exchange, the most international exchange in the world for the number of foreign listings, would give them significant exposure to companies listed outside the region.

LSE said in a press release it''s "very happy to welcome the Qatar Investment Authority as a long-term investor in the company."

The QIA, had a "long standing relationship," and had plans to "develop the Qatar marketplace and its potential for regional leadership in financial services," the press release added.

Qatar likely bought its stake now to protect the LSE from a full acquisition by Dubai, which having just acquired 28 per cent, may have planned to increase its holding in the future.