US exchange Nasdaq has repaid $250m (€195m) of its total debt, six months after agency Standard & Poor's reduced its credit rating to "junk" on concerns the company had borrowed heavily to fund its acquisition of a 25.3% stake in the London Stock Exchange.

The reduction of debt means Nasdaq may be better placed to make a fresh offer for the LSE. The six-month ban imposed by the UK Takeover Panel before Nasdaq could make a second bid expired a month ago.