Investors in the London Stock Exchange have backed its bid to take over Borsa Italiana by a large majority. Some 78 percent of the shareholder base approved the deal, including Nasdaq, former hostile bidder for the LSE which holds 30 percent of the shares.

Chief Executive, Clara Furse said, “This value-creating deal also accelerates our shared vision to become the world’s capital market”.

The Borsa brings a welcome strength in derivatives and fixed-income trading to an often beleaguered London market that let slip the chance to buy Liffe five years ago. The deal will put the LSE in the Footsie 100 for the first time.

It will now be more difficult for any predator wishing to snap up the LSE in future. Nasdaq’s agreement may signal it now accepts that future bids are out of the question.