Shares in Swedish bourse operator and technology firm OMX soared more 10.34% following an announcement that the company was in cooperation talks with several exchanges.
The Nasdaq Stock Market reportedly made a $3.33 billion offer for OMX, according to a Swedish newspaper, but the company said it did not receive any formal or informal bids.
This is the latest in a wave of consolidation in the share index market which has seen particular interest in U.S. exchanges tying up with European partners, including the recent failure of the Nasdaq to secure a merger deal with the London Stock Exchange.
Also Active in European Trading:
Ipsos (up 4.24%) The French market research firm saw shares increase this morning after a French magazine reported that the company’s co-chairmen and main shareholders could sell out. An Ipsos co-chairman stated later that although the company remained open to discussion about share ownership, it had given no mandate for a sale.
Partygaming (up 2.73%) Shares rose after a Dresdner Kleinwort analyst found the company’s strong customer growth favorable.
ThyssenKrupp (up 2.30%) The German steel and engineering group said pretax profit in the midterm could grow to at least $7.92 billion, the Financial Times Deutschland reported.
GN Store Nord (down 8.33%) Germany's competition body blocked the takeover of GN Store Nord’s hearing aid unit ReSound by Phonak.
Carpetright (down 5.01%) The U.K.’s biggest carpet retailer, Carpetright, announced like-for-like sales in Britain and Ireland fell 5.2% for the last 10 weeks.
Tele Atlas (down 4.244%) ABN Amro downgraded the digital map maker from “hold” to “sell,” saying the company is “increasingly vulnerable to price pressure,” Dow Jones Newswires reported.