Shares in Nordic and Baltic bourse group OMX rose almost 6 per cent today after a report the owner of the Dubai stock exchange planned to trump Nasdaq's offer, though some analysts were sceptical.
Nasdaq's bid, worth $3.7 billion, pushed up OMX shares by about 12 per cent after it was announced on Friday. It will create a firm with market capitalisation of about $7 billion and extend Nasdaq's footprint into Europe for the first time.
But Britain's Sunday Times, without naming sources, said the government-owned Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), had appointed HSBC to advise on a potential counterbid.
However, DIFC Governor Omar bid Suleiman had said last Thursday it was not eyeing a bid for OMX.
Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter noted that a former OMX chief executive, Per Larsson, was head of the Dubai bourse, meaning he knew the Stockholm-based group, now led by Magnus Bocker, who has recommended the Nasdaq offer.
However, analysts were not sure a bid would come through.
"I do not believe this at all (the report). Per Larsson knows Magnus Bocker and he would have made a bid already," said the analyst.
"I don't why this information has got such a spin. I think 207 crowns is a good price," he added, referring to the price Nasdaq has offered, made up of cash and new Nasdaq shares.
Another analyst said it was difficult to say if a new bid would come through.
By 10.00am, OMX shares were up 5.8 per cent at 211 crowns, having hit a peak of 215 crowns - their highest since early 2001.