OMX looms over Stock Exchange bid

THE chief executive of Scandinavian Stock Exchange owner OMX refused to rule out making a bid for the London Stock Exchange. Magnus Bocker, who reportedly ruled himself out of the running in December, said such reports were a 'misrepresentation'.

But he stopped short of saying that he would enter the fray to battle against Deutsche Borse and Euronext.

Hinting that he was worried about falling foul of the Takeover Panel, Bocker said: 'It's very tricky commenting on this in the UK market. Your regulations are much stricter.'

He added: 'I do not believe [the LSE] will remain independent.' Bocker said he believed that bidders other than Deutsche Borse will also come forward.

Speaking on lacklustre fourth-quarter results from OMX, he admitted having met with Borse boss Werner Seifert recently but said they had not talked specifically about the LSE.

OMX acts as a technology supplier to the London and Frankfurt exchanges. Its attempted bid for the LSE in 2000 was largely responsible for derailing the earlier German-British tie-up.

Separately, Conservative MEP Theresa Villiers called for potential LSE buyers to focus on users and not shareholders. She is due to deliver a report on clearing and settlement next week to the European Parliament.