Dubai Financial Market set to snap up Nasdaq rival at £75m

Dubai Financial Market is to buy out its smaller rival Nasdaq Dubai in a deal worth $121 million

The move had been widely expected even before the financial crisis which swept through the Arab emirate this month. There are 65 companies listed on DFM while only 14 are listed on Nasdaq Dubai but they include Dubai World.

The government of Dubai is the largest shareholder in the London Stock Exchange with a 21% shareholding.

DFM said it would restructure itself "in the near future" into a holding company to meet the guidelines of the two regulatory agencies, Dubai Financial Services Authority and the UAE's Securities and Commodities Authority, which oversee the bourses.

"This holding company would wholly own both DFM and Nasdaq Dubai, which would continue to operate as two distinct markets," DFM said in a statement.