Nasdaq AB took the lead in late January by offering 152 NOK per share – and got blessings from the board of target Oslo Børs VPS. Now Euronext hits back.

The new bid by Euronext is 158 NOK – 6 NOK higher than Nasdaq’s and up by 13 from Euronext’s first shot. The deadline for existing shareholders to make their mind up is extended to 11 March.

Future unclear

With Euronext’s deadline extension and bid hike the bidding war which some have predicted is a fact – leaving the future for Norway’s securities exchange and settlement house in uncertainty.

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Euronext calls its plans ”a strategic project to create a leading player in the Nordics”, and details it in a press release.

Will it affect the board?

When choosing to side with Nasdaq, which runs the historically national exchanges in both Sweden and Finland, the board of Oslo Børs VPS presented it as advantageous also for the financing opportunities of the region’s businesses. The question is now how much this counts to the leading stock holders in the light of the higher bid from Euronext.