NASDAQ PARTNERS WITH CITI ON EUROPEAN ROUTING; PLANS 2nd EQUITIES TRADING MARKET IN THE U.S. WITH BOSTON ACQUISITION

Posted September 2, 2008

NEW YORK – The Nasdaq OMX Group has entered a European partnership with Citi to offer routing broker services. In another development in the US, Nasdaq completed its planned acquisition of the Boston Stock Exchange and plans to launch a second equities market.

Nasdaq OMX Europe, a multi-lateral trading facility (MTF), will use Citi’s high-speed execution platform that includes the Neonet XG Market Gateway market access infrastructure.

“By partnering with Citi, we will offer efficient, fast, and low-cost routing through Nasdaq OMX Europe to European primary markets and other MTFs,” says Charlotte Crosswell, President of Nasdaq OMX Europe. “We will offer participants the ability to access markets throughout Europe through a single connection.”

The partnership will provide market participants with access to the Nasdaq OMX Europe order book and allow customers to access multiple pools of liquidity across Europe.

“As a provider of market-leading electronic execution products for both the buy- and sell-side it is a privilege to be selected as the routing broker for Nasdaq OMX Europe,” says Richard Evans, Global Head of Electronic Execution at Citi. “We continue to develop innovative solutions for our clients in the rapidly evolving post MiFID landscape.”

Meanwhile, with its acquisition of the Boston Stock Exchange now complete, the Nasdaq OMX Group will use the Boston platform to launch a second US equities market, to be named Nasdaq OMX BXSM (or BX), to launch in the fourth quarter. BX will be part of the group’s Nasdaq Transaction Services business.

“2008 has been a pivotal year for The Nasdaq OMX Group given the completion of three exchange acquisitions,” says Robert Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq OMX. “These have contributed to our transformation into broader asset classes and our growth across borders and new geographic regions. The completion of The Boston Stock Exchange transaction gives us the ability to offer customers more choices in US equity trading just as we have done with Nasdaq OMX PHLX and The Nasdaq Options Market.”

As part of the acquisition, Nasdaq OMX acquired a self-regulatory organization license for trading both equities and options.

“With the completion of this deal, the Boston Stock Exchange will thrive within the Nasdaq OMX family as it continues to offer its clients low-cost, innovative solutions, which was a key principle of the BSE since its inception,” says Michael J. Curran, Chairman and President of the Boston Stock Exchange, who will become a member of the boards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, Nasdaq OMX PHLX, and Nasdaq OMX BX.

Nasdaq OMX did not acquire an interest in the Boston Options Exchange (BOX) from the BSE. However, a regulatory services arrangement for the BOX market will remain in place. BX, through BOXR, will operate the regulatory services provider to the BOX, which is an options trading facility of the BSE.

“With Nasdaq OMX BX we will have the ability to offer a second quote within the US equities marketplace providing our customers enhanced trading choices and price flexibility,” says Christopher Concannon, Executive Vice President of Transaction Services at Nasdaq OMX. “We will continue to leverage our INET trading system, which runs the largest US equities exchange, for the Nasdaq OMX BX trading platform to give customers yet another fast and efficient market under The Nasdaq OMX Group.”