Nasdaq has become the third bidder in just over a year to abandon an offer for the London Stock Exchange after withdrawing an indicative £2.4bn (€3.5bn) proposal it made nearly three weeks ago. The US exchange left the door open to bid again under certain circumstances.

Nasdaq said in a statement that it was pulling its offer of 950p a share but reserved the right to bid again in the next six months should LSE agree to recommend its offer or in the event of a rival bid.