Nasdaq, the US stock market, has appointed Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein as broker for its bid approach to the London Stock Exchange. The German bank played the same role on Macquarie's failed bid for the LSE, and was set to fund the deal with £1.3bn (€1.9bn) of debt.

Nasdaq made a £2.4bn ($4.1bn) unsolicited approach for the LSE two weeks ago, which the LSE has rejected.