Easdaq completes initial fund raising

Easdaq completes initial fund raising

Easdaq, the planned pan-European stock market, came closer to becoming a reality with the completion of an initial Ecu1m (pounds 700,000) fund-raising exercise by the market's promoters. The promoters, which include Nasdaq, the United States exchange, will use the new money to finance the market's first phase of development, including obtaining regulatory approval. The fund-raising exercise was oversubscribed and the promoters are confident of raising a further Ecu10m in two tranches before the end of the year. The market's other backers include ING, the Dutch bank that rescued Barings, and up to 50 stockbrokers and investment banks from Europe and the US.