By Megan Davies
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq Stock Exchange Inc. (NDAQ.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shareholders are supportive of its efforts to tighten ties with the London Stock Exchange (LSE.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Nasdaq Chief Executive Bob Greifeld said on Monday.
Nasdaq, which dropped a 2.4 billion pound takeover bid for the LSE in March after being rebuffed by the exchange, has been gradually accumulating stock in the London exchange, raising speculation it may revive a takeover bid.
It said last week it had increased its holding in the LSE to 18.7 percent, strengthening its position as the London exchange's biggest shareholder.
Greifeld, speaking at the Reuters Exchanges and Trading Summit in New York, said he had the opportunity to talk to a lot of Nasdaq shareholders when it completed a secondary share offering a week and a half ago, the purpose of which was to pay down debt incurred in purchasing the LSE stake.
"Our shareholders have a great appreciation for the fact that we have now done five acquisitions and we have done them very successfully," said Greifeld, referring to deals such as Nasdaq's acquisition of the Inet and Brut trading platforms.
"The acquisitions we have done have driven a tremendous amount of shareholder value. So, they respect the fact that we have the disciplines in place to make sure that we make the right moves, and I think they are very supportive of our efforts with London and with other things that we might endeavor."
Greifeld said he was comfortable with the amount of debt taken on to finance the purchase. Its initial purchase of a 14.99 percent stake in the LSE cost about $782 million. Increasing the stake to 18.7 percent cost $219.2 million.
"I think you can judge by our actions with respect to our comfort level with debt -- our actions show that we are comfortable taking on a larger amount of debt for a particular purpose and then will undertake an action to either pay the debt down directly ourselves over time or to raise equity," said Greifeld. Continued...
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