Oslo Børs and London Stock Exchange Group agree strategic partnership

Bente A. Landsnes, Chief Executive Officer of Oslo Børs, said:

“We are excited about this agreement and the opportunities it creates for developing further the Norwegian securities market. This is a natural development for Oslo Børs, increasing our distribution network throughout Europe. We believe this partnership will enhance both liquidity and the general interest in our market. By combining our complementary strengths, both exchanges will gain from the partnership, helping us better serve our customers.”

Clara Furse, Chief Executive of London Stock Exchange Group, said:

“We are delighted to be forging an important strategic relationship with Oslo Børs. We look forward to co-operating with them to expand the reach of our combined Nordic derivatives markets and enabling Norwegian cash equities and fixed income to be traded on TradElect, our internationally renowned trading platform. There is considerable scope for further co-operation and we look forward to working with our colleagues in Oslo to provide innovative, efficient and liquid markets for our customers.”

Initially, the strategic partnership will include:

Equities & Fixed Income

• The use of TradElect and a harmonised trading model will increase access to the London, Milan and Oslo markets for cash equities. The potential for cross membership between the three exchange will also be explored
• The migration of the Oslo Børs cash equities and fixed income markets to TradElect will take place in the first quarter of 2010, subject to client readiness
• Oslo Børs will use Infolect, an integrated part of TradElect, for dissemination of market data

Derivatives

• The Oslo and EDX London derivatives markets will both use the state-of-the art, derivatives trading technology SOLA which has been licensed to London Stock Exchange Group by TMX Group
• The partnership will build on the existing Nordic Derivatives link in place since 1997, including the operation of shared order books and joint product development in the Nordic market
• The migration of the Oslo Børs and EDX derivatives market will take place in November 2009, subject to client readiness

Co-operation in market surveillance and regulation

• London Stock Exchange Group and Oslo Bors will work closely on market surveillance, including related technological co-operation
• The two companies also anticipate co-operation in areas such as regulatory policy, operational regulatory processes and the sharing of market information for regulatory purposes

Migration to theTradElect and SOLA trading systems is likely to involve project costs for Oslo Børs of just over NOK 60 million. Assuming the levels of trading volume and trading revenue for Oslo Børs in 2008, the annual cost of using TradElect and Sola would be around the same level as the cost of using the current trading systems

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Oslo Børs:
Bente A. Landsnes,
Chief Executive Officer
+47 22 34 17 00 or +47 905 50 495

Per Eikrem,
SVP Corporate Communications
+47 22 34 17 40 or +47 930 60 000

London Stock Exchange:
Catherine Mattison
Press Office +44 (0)20 7797 1222
newsroom@londonstockexchange.com

Notes to editors:

About London Stock Exchange Group:

London Stock Exchange Group is Europe's leading diversified exchange business. It operates Europe's largest and most liquid equity market, holds the number one position in trading ETFs and securitised derivatives, and through its interest in MTS, is the leading platform for the trading of fixed income products.

The London Stock Exchange itself is the world's most international exchange with nearly 700 overseas companies from over 70 countries on its markets. It has consolidated this position in the last three calendar years, having attracted 218 international companies which raised over £32 billion between them. These figures include international companies on AIM, the London Stock Exchange's growth market, which has grown to become the world's most successful market for small and medium sized enterprises with over 1500 companies at the end of 2008.

Following its merger with Borsa Italiana in 2007, London Stock Exchange Group also now offers post-trade services such as netting, clearing and settlement on an efficient and competitive basis, and a comprehensive range of European bond trading services through MTS.

About Oslo Børs:

Oslo Børs offers the only regulated markets for securities trading in Norway providing a full product range including equities, derivatives and fixed income instruments. Oslo Børs is part of the Oslo Børs VPS Group which consists of the four companies Oslo Børs, VPS, Oslo Clearing and Oslo Market Solutions. The group offers marketplaces for listing and trading in securities, registration of ownership and clearing and settlement of securities in Norway, market data and on-line solutions.