The Wall Street Journal-20080214-Qatar Holding Sells OMX Stake

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Qatar Holding Sells OMX Stake

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Qatar Holding LLC, a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority, sold its 9.98% stake in the Nordic stock-exchange operator OMX AB to Borse Dubai, a person familiar with the matter said.

A statement from the Swedish financial supervisory authority said Qatar Holding sold its stake amounting to around 12 million shares. Borse Dubai and Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. have jointly bid $4.9 billion for OMX.

Qatar's move means that Borse Dubai and Nasdaq are close to completing their deal, as it gives Borse Dubai control of nearly 67% of the shares in OMX -- the agreed-upon level at which Nasdaq subsequently would acquire the OMX shares from Borse Dubai and fully take control of the exchange operator.