The Dubai stock exchange is seeking approval from the board of OMX, the pan-Scandinavian stock exchange group, to support a £2 billion ($4bn) takeover offer this week.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), which owns the exchange, has set up meetings with key shareholders of the Swedish-based group and its management, to pave the way for a bid of around 230 kronor (£16.70) per share. Bankers at HSBC, which is advising the Dubai owners, seem to have suggested privately that the Emirate was prepared to pay as much as 250 kronor a share.

They will also have meetings with members of the Swedish government and regulators in an attempt to win support for the approach.

These moves could have implications for the London Stock Exchange. Dubai is thought to have plans to create a pan-European exchange to include the LSE and its new partner, Borsa Italiana. Such a grouping would rival NYSE/Euronext, which was formed last year.

Nasdaq’s recently-agreed bid of £1.8 billion ($3.6bn) for OMX now looks weak in comparison. However, talk of Dubai approaching the American exchange to be part of its masterplan seem wide of the mark. Dubai is shy of a political backlash if it buys in America again, following turbulence created by its recent purchase of P&O and its American ports.

Nasdaq chief executive, Bob Greifeld, last week told investors that its funding for the OMX bid was “flexible”. Insiders are apparently saying that “all options” were on the table, including selling some of Nasdaq’s 22 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange.

A source is quoted as saying, “Greifeld is determined to get this and is leaving no stone unturned. He is also aware that his future is uncertain if this bid fails, after the failure of the London Stock Exchange bid.”

With a place in the FTSE 100 now assured, Clara Furse may be on the prowl again for another asset to bolster LSE independence from Dubai’s predatory instincts.