Nasdaq’s self-imposed deadline for expressions of interest in its 31 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange passed Friday without receiving a single firm bid, although the US-based exchange said that it had actually extended that deadline earlier this week, reports the Financial Times.
The absence of firm offers for a stake in what has long been regarded as a trophy among the world's exchange groups suggests the LSE is so determined to see off prospective suitors that it might drop off bidders' radar screens altogether.
Nasdaq said it had not expected to receive any firm offers since it extended the deadline for bids to a date that it declined to name. The Qatar Investment Authority is understood to be considering bidding for the stake.
Last month Nasdaq announced it intended to dispose of the stake, acquired during its hostile bid for the LSE last year, while it concentrated on trying to complete its agreed offer for OMX, the Nordic exchanges and technology company.