Carlyle’s talks to take exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group private are far from done, The Post has learned.
The private-equity giant continues to hold early-stage discussions with Nasdaq about a possible $7 billion buyout, despite initial reports yesterday that the talks had ended last month, a source said.
But there’s a ways to go before any potential deal is reached. The biggest obstacle relates to regulatory oversight of the exchange operator and whether that prohibits Carlyle from making certain changes to the business. That’s in contrast to reports that talks broke down over price, the source said.
Nasdaq shares rose 3 percent to $30.38 on the news, first reported by Fox Business Network.
The talks are at such a preliminary stage that Nasdaq CEO Robert Greifeld has not yet hired bankers, said the source.
The National Association of Securities Dealers, now known as Finra, founded Nasdaq and ran it until taking the exchange public.
The share price has more than tripled since 2005 when Nasdaq sold shares to the public at $9 a pop.
Still, the stock has been flat over the past two years after shaken investors pulled back from the markets, sending equity trading to its lowest level in years.
Carlyle’s plan would be to keep Nasdaq independent — a different strategy than the one pursued by rival NYSE Euronext, which agreed to an $8.2 billion merger with the much younger IntercontinentalExchange.
Carlyle adviser and former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt, who said he isn’t privy to any talks, said he looks back fondly on the days when the exchanges weren’t run for profit. “It is an open question as to whether changing self-regulatory bodies to profit-making ones necessarily offers investors the same protection,” he said.
Both Carlyle and Nasdaq declined to comment.