Press releases 2000

27 October 2000

RESPONSE TO CIRCULAR FROM OM GRUPPEN

The Board of the London Stock Exchange notes the circular published today by OM Gruppen.

Don Cruickshank, Chairman of London Stock Exchange plc, said: "OM's third document adds nothing new for our shareholders or our customers.

"We had hoped that OM might have taken the opportunity to explain what went wrong - numerous times - with the Stockholm and Copenhagen exchanges' systems last week, but they have chosen to ignore this. Despite serving only these two small-scale equity exchanges, OM's management has consistently failed to maintain reliable equity trading systems and to manage capacity demands.

"OM's offer, which has not been revised, continues to represent inadequate value and is still based on OM's shares of uncertain value. In recent weeks, their share price has dropped by some 30 per cent. Our shareholders should continue to reject this inadequate offer: we are going to get on with the task of building our business."

Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, which is regulated in the United Kingdom by The Securities and Futures Authority Limited, is acting for London Stock Exchange plc and no one else in connection with the offer by OM and will not be responsible to anyone other than London Stock Exchange plc for providing the protections afforded to its customers or for providing advice in relation to the offer by OM. Schroder Salomon Smith Barney has approved this press release for the purposes of Section 57 of the Financial Services Act 1986.