The London Stock Exchange has successfully fought for independence for the fourth time in two years after a £2.9bn (€4.3bn) hostile takeover bid by Nasdaq ended with the US exchange walking away with just a fraction of the shares it needed.

Nasdaq said in a statement that it had received acceptances from shareholders with just 0.41% of LSE stock for its £12.43p-per-share bid. That leaves Nasdaq, which was already the exchange's largest shareholder, with 29.16% of the LSE's stock. It needed 50% plus one share to take control of it.