Nasdaq/LSE Swing shareholders

Nasdaq’s bid for the London Stock Exchange may look a bit like a private equity deal. But unlike a buyout bidder, it does not need to get at least 75% of the target’s shares to close. Indeed, it can if it chooses close at just 50.1% - about 21% more than the 29% it already owns - despite the big debt pile it’s taking on to buy the UK exchange. Nasdaq’s financiers believe the combined group’s cashflows are sufficiently stable for it to close with a bare majority. «Only» needing 21% of the LSE co...