Frankfurt's Deutsche Borse plans to form a consortium with the Milan and Madrid bourses to make a bid for the London Stock Exchange and is prepared to launch a hostile bid if necessary, according to a German magazine. Focus, citing US financial circles, said Deutsche Borse head Mr Werner Seifert was also talking with Nasdaq chief executive Mr Frank Zarb on the US exchange's participation in the consortium.
On Friday, a source close to talks between the three exchanges told Reuters the bourses were considering making a friendly bid for the exchange with Nasdaq possibly taking part.
A Deutsche Borse spokesman declined comment.
Observers say time is running short for the Borse amid competition from rivals. Swedish stock exchange operator OM Gruppen has already made a £820 million sterling (€1.4 billion) hostile offer for the London Stock Exchange.
Last Tuesday, the London exchange pulled out of its plan to merge with Deutsche Borse to create megabourse iX, saying there were problems that were difficult to resolve and that it needed to focus on fighting off OM Gruppen's hostile bid. The London exchange is set to publish its defence document to the OM bid within a week or so, according to the strict timetable laid down by Britain's takeover code.
