The London Stock Exchange is preparing to present its defence against Nasdaq’s £2.9 billion bid this week.

Its main claim to independence will be a reiteration of the exchange’s buoyant earnings boom, arguing that a price of £12.43 seriously undervalues its potential.

There are suggestions that the LSE may also resume cash returns to shareholders, while continuing its efforts to find a white knight protector.

At last Clara Furse and the board of the London Stock Exchange are waking up to the threat of Nasdaq and Sarbanes-Oxley regulation. It seems they are looking for a “white knight” among private equity firms.

Meanwhile, the prospect of a direct takeover of OMX, the Scandinavian and Baltic exchange operator and former bidder for the LSE, has been around for a while and seemed dormant. But as the LSE hummed and hah’d, fiery Nasdaq has let it be known that it too may bid for the company. Mysterious.

Alex Brummer, the UK Mail’s City Editor, opines : “Under the stewardship of Clara Furse we have an LSE which has enriched investors but lost global standing.”

Now we are being fed the notion that an almost £3 billion ($5.5bn) management buyout, led by Clara Furse herself and backed by private equity, would keep the aspidistra British flag flying over London soil.

Well, it’s better than nothing. Let’s see some action though before October 2 when Nasdaq is handed the golden arrow. And a deal with OMX would help protect the LSE from the new Euro-American conglomerate even now thinking ahead to its demise.