Nasdaq OMX in buyback
EXCHANGE operator Nasdaq OMX kicked its buyback plan into high gear with a deal to repurchase 11.5 per cent of its outstanding shares from Borse Dubai for $497m (£320.4m) yesterday.
The repurchase of 22.8m shares will be funded by a proposed $370m bond sale, the US-based company said yesterday.
Nasdaq OMX said it agreed to a price of $21.82 per share for the buyback, below its closing price of $22.53 on Wednesday.
The deal will help Borse Dubai meet its debt obligations, Nasdaq OMX said.
It said Borse Dubai would also sell about 8m Nasdaq OMX shares to Investor AB, the holding company for Sweden’s Wallenberg family.
After the transactions with Nasdaq OMX and Investor AB, Borse Dubai’s holdings in Nasdaq OMX will total about 30m shares.
The plan “allows us to be opportunistic and accelerate our share repurchase plans,” Nasdaq OMX chief executive Robert Greifeld said in a statement.