LSE shares surge as bidders line up

THE London Stock Exchange admitted that it was in talks with more than one potential bidder after its shares leapt above 500p for the first time.

The Exchange said: 'As part of our ongoing review of strategic options, the Exchange is in discussions with various other parties.'

Despite the fact that the Exchange attempted to dampen down speculation by saying that it had no plans to make any further announcement when it releases its full-year results a week on Thursday, the shares rose by more than 8% to 503p before settling back to 485p, up 22p on the day.

Speculation has been mounting increasingly that the LSE, valued at £1.4bn, will be taken over by Nasdaq, the hi-tech New York market. Talks have been continuing between both parties, but the Exchange has stressed that this is only one of its options.

It said: 'If appropriate, an announcement may be made at a later date.'

A spokesman for the Exchange said he was not aware that the statement had been ordered to be made by the Financial Services Authority. He said: 'We always believe that we should employ best practice in terms of responding to sudden or extreme share price movements.'