Five years ago the Swedish stock exchange, OMX Gruppen, had the temerity to make a bid for the London Stock Exchange. The approach was resisted because OMX shareholders failed to support the move.

Now, with problematical bids for the LSE coming in from Nasdaq and possibly the New York Stock Exchange, Clara Furse has a winding road to tread which might include a hostile takeover of the Swedes.

In Europe, Deutsche Borse and Euronext are considering a tie-up. Together, they would have little trouble swallowing the LSE in its current position. But if Clara could absorb OMX, the LSE would slip into the Footsie 100 and become relatively immune to takeover bids.

Currently, the LSE is worth £2.9 billion ($5bn), with the Swedish exchange standing at £1.3bn ($2.3bn). A move would benefit both since it’s in no-one’s interests to have a much larger competitor eyeing up its rivals outside the Eurozone.

Expect to hear more talk of this in the weeks to come.