Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Why was Temasek citied as having made an offer?

Why was Temasek citied as having made an offer?


Temasek is denying that it ever made an offer for Nasdaq Stock Market Inc’s 31 percent stake in London Stock Exchange Group Plc. This goes against the grain of reports that mentioned that Temasek had made a bid. A London based publication reported that Singapore’s Temasek had lost out in a bid for the London Exchange Stake. Temasek has strongly disputed the reports stating , “We had not at any time made an offer, nor participated in any bidding for the 31 percent Nasdaq state in the London Stock Exchange.”

Temasek said it was disturbed that certain market players had chosen to use the name of Temasek in an unprofessional manner. “We are extremely disappointed that certain market players have chosen to use Temasek’s name in such an unprofessional manner,” the superpower said.

It is rare for Temasek to issue a statement to defend itself against the report. Temasek manages more than $100 billion dollars worth of assets. It has acquisitions in in China and India and has stakes in some of Singapore’s biggest companies. Temasek has always declined to comment in the past on market speculation about acquisitions.

The presumably erroneous report came about after Nasdaq missed a self imposed deadline on September 8 to sell the stake. This was to give potential buyers more time to consider bidding for shares of Europe’s largest bourse. Another investment superpower which was said to have made a bid is the Qatar Investment Authority. The question to ask here would be why the English publication reported that Temasek had made a bid and why would Temasek issue a statement when it hardly issues a statement in its defense?

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