People were pretty down on the Nasdaq after its bid for the London Stock Exchange blew up. It seemed like a huge expensive failure, but the news that it will acquire OMX, based in Stockholm, was greeted with a lot of enthusiasm. OMX owns seven exchanges across the Nordic and Baltic region. It is regarded as a technology juggernaut and forward-thinking firm; it dominates trading in Northern Europe and has a foothold in Eastern Europe. Not to mention it's profitable. The issue will be how the combined entity will stitch together a cohesive service for global investors and firms. The NYSE has the same issue. So the bottom line is that the Nasdaq has made, surprisingly, the transatlantic market a two-horse race.

For more:
- here's a Business Week article