Yesterday it was announced that Nasdaq has reached an agreement with Dubai Bourse to purchase the Nordic OMX Exchange group, a collection of securities exchanges in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and the Baltics. As part of the deal, Dubai Bourse will end up owning 20% of Nasdaq and 5% of Nasdaq’s voting power. Dubai Bourse also gets the right to buy most of Nasdaq’s 31% stake in the London Stock Exchange, a large block that represents Nasdaq’s failed attempt to buy the London market.
Security concerns have already been raised by President Bush, who announced a national security review of Dubai and its ownership of a major U.S. exchange. Whether these concerns will rise to the level of previous concerns over Dubai Ports World, a United Arab Emirates company with control of U.S. ports remains to be seen.
