Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) and buyout shop Carlyle Group LP
(CG) discussed a deal to take the exchange company private, though
the talks didn't result in a transaction and they aren't ongoing,
according to people familiar with the matter.
Carlyle reached out to Nasdaq, one of the people said. The
buyout firm's chief financial officer, Adena Friedman, brokered a
meeting with Nasdaq OMX, where she previously was chief financial
officer.
Carlyle's dealmakers conducted preliminary due diligence, but a
gulf emerged between what the buyout shop was inclined to pay and
what Nasdaq felt it was worth, the person said.
A move to private ownership would have been a dramatic shift for
the $5 billion exchange group, which serves as a gateway for
companies to raise investment funds via public share-listings.
Carlyle itself listed on Nasdaq when it went public last year.
Nasdaq's so-called enterprise value, a figure that includes its
debt, is more than $6 billion, a doable size for a buyout, given
current market conditions.
The Nasdaq Stock Market became a shareholder-owned company
following its spinoff from the National Association of Securities
Dealers in 2000. The Nasdaq gained status as a regulated stock
exchange in 2006.
News of the going-private talks was first reported by Fox
Business News.
Ms. Friedman, who worked at Nasdaq OMX in various positions for
18 years before leaving in early 2011, has since remained on
cordial terms with Robert Greifeld, Nasdaq OMX's chief executive,
according to people close to the executives. She was a key figure
in deals that expanded the exchange company's overseas profile,
helping to navigate its 2008 purchase of Nordic exchange group OMX
AB. She also helped put together Nasdaq OMX's acquisition of the
Philadelphia Stock Exchange, which helped to bolster Nasdaq OMX's
position in stock-options trading.
Write to Jacob Bunge at jacob.bunge@dowjones.com and Ryan
Dezember at ryan.dezember@dowjones.com
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