Nasdaq, Carlyle Group held private talks about possible buyout

New York, NY, United States (4E) – Nasdaq OMX and buyout firm Carlyle Group entered early-stage discussions in January about possible plans to leave the public markets, although talks fell apart over pricing.

Sources familiar with the private meetings said that the talks were initiated by Carlyle Chief Financial Officer Adena Friedman who left Nasdaq in 2011 after working there as chief financial officer and head of corporate strategy.

The talks, which currently no longer taking place, came after the $8.2bn acquisition of its main rival NYSE Euronext.

Declining profits from securities trading have made exchange companies struggle to boost earnings. Data compiled by Bloomberg shows that these companies have been subject of over $50bn worth of takeover bids since 2010.

IntercontinentalExchange Inc. agreed to buy NYSE Euronext in December while the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. has acquired the London Metal Exchange.

Nasdaq chief executive Robert Greifeld is seeking to reorganize the company’s business units to reduce expenses due to shrinking revenues from trading worldwide. The exchange plans to expand into derivatives trading by setting up a new market based in London and acquiring a 25 percent stake in a Dutch alternative trading system for stocks and equity derivatives.

Nasdaq spent $390m to purchase Thomson Reuters’ investor and public relations services unit in a recent deal. In 2008, it paid $3.7bn to acquire Scandinavian exchanges operator OMX.

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