Thursday, May 25, 2006
LSE CEO Furse says co to meet Nasdaq
LSE CEO Furse says co to meet Nasdaq
Story London Stock Exhange Group PLC chief executive Clara Furse said the company will shortly meet with potential suitor and 25 pct shareholder Nasdaq, but declined to comment on what they will discuss, AFX News reported.
"We're going to meet with them as our major shareholder," she said in a conference call with reporters. Furse also declined to comment on whether the LSE, which has received four takeover approaches in the past 16 months, is in talks with other potential buyers or merger partners. "We constantly explore opportunities for growth over and above the excellent growth story we already have," she said. But the LSE chief executive added that the company's recent strong performance means that it is not under any pressure to combine with rivals. "We don't need to do a deal. We're not interested in doing a deal for the sake of doing a deal, we're interested in doing a deal to add to our growth," she said.
Nasdaq built up a 25.1 pct stake in the LSE after its GBP 2.4bn takeover offer for the company was rejected as too low in March. Speculation that the US group will use its holding to negotiate an agreed deal with the LSE peaked on Monday after arch-rival NYSE Group, seen as a potential rival suitor for the London bourse, tabled a takeover offer for pan-European exchange operator Euronext NV instead. Furse was speaking shortly after the LSE unveiled full-year operating profit of GBP 120.1m, a 42 pct increase on the previous year, and ahead of the 118.7m consensus analyst forecast.
Source AFX
Story London Stock Exhange Group PLC chief executive Clara Furse said the company will shortly meet with potential suitor and 25 pct shareholder Nasdaq, but declined to comment on what they will discuss, AFX News reported.
"We're going to meet with them as our major shareholder," she said in a conference call with reporters. Furse also declined to comment on whether the LSE, which has received four takeover approaches in the past 16 months, is in talks with other potential buyers or merger partners. "We constantly explore opportunities for growth over and above the excellent growth story we already have," she said. But the LSE chief executive added that the company's recent strong performance means that it is not under any pressure to combine with rivals. "We don't need to do a deal. We're not interested in doing a deal for the sake of doing a deal, we're interested in doing a deal to add to our growth," she said.
Nasdaq built up a 25.1 pct stake in the LSE after its GBP 2.4bn takeover offer for the company was rejected as too low in March. Speculation that the US group will use its holding to negotiate an agreed deal with the LSE peaked on Monday after arch-rival NYSE Group, seen as a potential rival suitor for the London bourse, tabled a takeover offer for pan-European exchange operator Euronext NV instead. Furse was speaking shortly after the LSE unveiled full-year operating profit of GBP 120.1m, a 42 pct increase on the previous year, and ahead of the 118.7m consensus analyst forecast.
Source AFX
