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Nasdaq willing to extend LSE stake sale deadline
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ.O) is willing to extend its initial Friday deadline for receiving expressions of interest in its 31 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange (LSE.L), a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The Friday deadline, first reported in the Wall Street Journal, was only an "initial" deadline and "not hard and fast," the person said.
Nasdaq, which unsuccessfully tried to buy the LSE twice, said last month it would sell its LSE stake, currently worth about 858 million pounds ($1.72 billion). It plans to use $1 billion of the proceeds to pay down debt and buy back shares.
Analysts have said Nasdaq could also use the proceeds to raise its bid for Nordic bourse operator OMX.ST.
Chief Executive Robert Greifeld said on Aug 20 the company's bankers were already in touch with potential buyers of the LSE stake, and he expected a sale to happen within a month.
NYSE Euronext (NYX.N), Australia's ASX Ltd (ASX.AX) and Singapore's state-owned Temasek Holdings Inc TEM.UL were among the parties who contacted or were contacted by Nasdaq, a source earlier told Reuters.
Other possible buyers include Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE), the state-owned Qatari Investment Authority and the CME Group CME.N, according to recent press reports.
(Reporting by Anupreeta Das)
