Nasdaq restructuring will improve share trading platform

TALLINN - Nasdaq OMX Baltic, part of the Nasdaq OMX Group, has announced that it plans to create a new single marketplace to trade shares listed on the three regulated Baltic stock markets Nasdaq OMX Tallinn, Nasdaq OMX Riga and Nasdaq OMX Vilnius, reports LETA. Trades and settlement will be denominated in euros, with the marketplace scheduled for launch in the first half of 2010.

“NASDAQ OMX is committed to improving the liquidity in the exchanges in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and we believe that launching a single currency trading venue will be beneficial to all market participants, listed companies and investors, locally and internationally,” said NASDAQ OMX Nordic President Hans-Ole Jochumsen. “Trading and settling in one currency for the members and investors will increase the accessibility to the Baltic market and thereby make it more attractive.”

The new marketplace will be set up on the same trading platform as the regulated markets, with no additional costs to members and investors for access to the new market. This marketplace will have one rulebook and will offer trading in all shares listed on the Baltic stock exchanges. This includes the Baltic Main list as well as the Baltic Secondary list, with all shares that are officially admitted to the regulated markets of all three Baltic countries.  Trading on the regulated markets in local currencies will remain operational after the launch of the new marketplace, but the majority of trading is expected to move to the new trading venue. Additionally, there will be no changes in information disclosure rules for the listed companies or information distribution channels for market professionals and investors in the Baltic markets.

NASDAQ OMX Nordic reports that it has agreed with Swedbank and SEB to acquire their minority stakes in the NASDAQ OMX Tallinn exchange. Other local minority shareholders have also sold their stakes in OMX Tallinn to NASDAQ OMX, bringing NASDAQ OMX’s ownership in NASDAQ OMX Tallinn to 93 percent.

In connection with this deal, SEB has also sold its 1.2 percent stake in NASDAQ OMX Vilnius to NASDAQ OMX. NASDAQ OMX’s goal is to reach 100 percent ownership in all NASDAQ OMX’s Baltic groups in the near future.
The acquisition is a step in a joint co-operation initiative between NASDAQ OMX, SEB, Swedbank, East Capital and other Nordic banks operating on the Baltic markets with the objective of revitalizing the local capital markets.