Sweden's financial regulator said Thursday it had approved the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. as a potential owner of Nordic bourse operator OMX AB, according to AP. OMX has been targeted by a string of takeover offers in recent months, the latest of which being a complex deal under which Nasdaq and Borse Dubai are pursuing the Stockholm-based company together. The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, the country's equivalent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said Nasdaq fulfilled all requirements under Swedish law. Borse Dubai will have to go through a similar review before the takeover can be completed. On Wednesday, Nasdaq and Borse Dubai raised their bid for OMX by 15 percent to US$4.9 billion (¤3.47 billion) and lowered the threshold of acceptances to 50 percent from 90 percent. The move came after an investment group from Qatar bought nearly 10 percent of the company, triggering speculation of a new bidding war.
