-- Nasdaq OMX says Borje Ekholm to remain chairman
-- Announcement ends speculation CEO will oversee board
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) said Thursday that Borje Ekholm
would remain chairman of the trans-Atlantic financial-exchange
operator, ending speculation that Chief Executive Robert Greifeld
would also oversee the board.
Mr. Ekholm was appointed interim chairman in May, elevating the
CEO of Sweden's Investor AB (IVSBY) at the exchange group following
the failed bid by Nasdaq OMX to acquire most of arch rival NYSE
Euronext (NYX).
Investor AB, a holding company that handles the interests of
Sweden's Wallenberg family, is Nasdaq OMX's largest single
shareholder. It has big holdings in industrial bellwethers such as
telecom equipment producer Ericsson AB and consumer-appliance maker
Electrolux AB.
The company has more than doubled its stake to 11.8% over the
past two years and held a total 19.4 million shares of Nasdaq OMX
at the end of the third quarter of 2012, according to regulatory
filings. Until the second quarter of 2012, the Investment Corp. of
Dubai had been Nasdaq OMX's largest shareholder, according to
filings.
The Investment Corp. of Dubai and Investor AB backed the
exchange group's failed bid in 2011 for NYSE Euronext and committed
to remain long-term holders of the stock after the deal's collapse.
This followed multiple and unsuccessful efforts by Nasdaq under Mr.
Greifeld to also acquire the operator of the London Stock
Exchange.
Analysts have speculated in recent months that Mr. Greifeld
would seek to become chairman of Nasdaq OMX, though he and the
company have declined to comment.
Mr. Ekholm became the interim chairman of Nasdaq OMX in May,
following the retirement of H. Furlong Baldwin. Proxy advisory firm
ISS at the time recommended voting against Mr. Ekholm due to his
role as CEO of Investor AB and director on other company boards,
which compete for his time and attention. In that election, he drew
the weakest level of support among directors being voted to the
board: about 77 million shares voted in his favor, versus 107
million to 109 million for other Nasdaq OMX directors, according to
results filed by Nasdaq.
Investor AB and Middle East players such as the government-owned
Dubai investment vehicle have been pivotal figures in recent
efforts to advance consolidation in the exchange industry. But
those efforts have mostly foundered on a mix of opposition from
regulators and pressure on earnings caused by a widespread slowdown
in trading.
Nasdaq, which operates stock and derivatives trading platforms
in the U.S. and Europe, has looked to diversify away from business
reliant on trading volume. The company this week agreed to acquire
Thomson Reuters Corp.'s investor-relations, public-relations and
multimedia-services businesses for $390 million.
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