Nasdaq/Dubai near control of OMX after bid

By Simon Johnson and James Cordahi

STOCKHOLM/DUBAI (Reuters) - Nasdaq Stock Market Inc (NDAQ.O) and Borse Dubai, aiming to muscle out potential rival bidders, boosted an offer for OMX OMX.ST to $4.9 billion on Wednesday and pushed close to a majority stake in the Nordic exchange group.

Borse Dubai is offering 265 Swedish crowns ($40.57) per share, up 15 percent from a previous offer of 230 crowns. It has now secured 47.6 percent of OMX in stock or options for shares.

Trading in OMX shares resumed on Wednesday after being suspended but rose above the new bid level with a 2 percent gain to 276.50 crowns as investors saw the possibility of a higher offer.

State-owned Borse Dubai and Nasdaq said the bid values OMX at $4.9 billion, compared with the original $4 billion under the previous Borse Dubai offer.

Borse Dubai Chief Executive Per Larsson said he was in talks with OMX shareholders and hoped to boost the holding in the firm to more than 50 percent "fairly soon."

Larsson said in an interview he thought it would be difficult for any other bidder to match the price on offer and also get support from stakeholders in the company. He called the Borse Dubai offer "very high."

Nasdaq and Borse Dubai made the preemptive strike for more shares after a Qatar group started buying OMX shares at 260 crowns last week. They said the offer is binding unless a competing offer is made for at least 303 crowns per share.

Analysts in New York said they expect Nasdaq and Dubai to be able to fend off rivals with the sweetened bid.

The "developments are incrementally positive for Nasdaq, as it appears more likely to close OMX, with negligibly higher cost," said Fox-Pitt Kelton analyst Edward Ditmire.

Nasdaq shares would "reflect this positive," he said.

Sandler O'Neill analyst Rich Repetto said Nasdaq and Dubai's improved offer for OMX indicated a "disciplined" approach.

"We ... doubt that any Western exchange could acquire OMX for over SEK 300 as an accretive acquisition," Repetto wrote in a research note.

Shares of Nasdaq were up $1.04 or 2.9 percent at $37.30 in afternoon trading. The shares have traded between $26.57 and $42.37 in the past 52 weeks.

SHAREHOLDER SUPPORT

Borse Dubai agreed with Nasdaq last week to go ahead with its OMX bid and then sell OMX to the U.S. stock exchange company in return for a 20 percent stake in the combined group.