Dubai: Borse Dubai has sold its complete 17.4 per cent stake in the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE), a statement from the company said on Thursday.
The biggest investor in the LSE, Borse Dubai, is also the holding company for Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai. It did not disclose the price at which the stake was sold after an eight-year investment.
“Borse Dubai has today sold its shareholding in LSE, representing approximately 17.4 per cent of the share capital in the company. Following the completion of the sale, Borse Dubai will not hold any shares in LSE,” Borse Dubai said in the statement on Thursday.
According to terms obtained by Bloomberg, Borse Dubai is being offered at 2,250 pence to 2,300 pence per share for about £1.4 billion (Dh7.6 billion).
“Some entities in Dubai are selling their non-strategic assets after the crisis and I am assuming that LSE is one of them,” Rami Sidani, head of investments in the Middle East for Schroders, told Gulf News.
A Borse Dubai spokesperson told Gulf News that LSE share prices have been at their all-time highs and it was decided that it’s the appropriate time to monetise it.
The proceeds from the stake sale would be used for general business purposes, he added.
Deal
The LSE has risen more than six per cent for the year while it fell 2.71 per cent for 2014.
Borse Dubai acquired a 28 per cent stake in the LSE from Nasdaq Stock Market in 2007 as part of a deal that saw Nasdaq merge with Sweden’s OMX group. The sale was managed by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, Barclays and Nomura International, the statement said.
The Qatar Investment Authority also took 20 per cent stake in 2007 and now it has 10 per cent stake after selling a near five per cent stake in July, but it will now become the largest shareholder in the LSE.
Borse Dubai, however, ruled out any sale of its shares in Nasdaq OMX Group on Thursday, according to a Reuters report.
According to Borse Dubai’s website, it sold 8,500,000 shares or a 3.1 per cent stake to accelerate its book-building process on September 4, 2014. The shares were sold to institutional investors at a price of 2,020p each.
