The Nasdaq stock market has again increased its stake in the London Stock Exchange. It now has 25.1% after paying £27.4m for an extra 2.2 million shares in the LSE.
Under British takeover rules, shareholders taking their stake in a company above 30% are required to make a full takeover bid. By owning more than 25% of the LSE, the Nasdaq has the right to block any strategic decisions made by the board.
Nasdaq, which is dominated by US technology listings including online search engine Google, raised its stake in Europe's biggest stock exchange from 24.1%. The new shares were each bought at an average price of £12.35.
