THE London Stock Exchange faces weeks of pressure from investors to strike a deal with Nasdaq, the New York market that from today is free to renew its takeover approach.

Under Takeover Panel rules, Nasdaq, which has had to sit out a six-month moratorium after its earlier approach was rebuffed by the LSE, can offer a minimum of £12.43 a share. This would value the LSE at £2.65 billion.

Nasdaq already has a 25.3 per cent stake in the LSE and is widely expected to bid again, with or without an acceptance from Clara Furse, the LSE chief executive, and the rest of her board. The Americans, however, are not expected to act immediately but to wait in the hope that LSE shareholders, in particular the hedge funds that hold more than 30 per cent of the shares, pressure Ms Furse to do a deal that will allow them to take profits.

“Among the hedge funds, you can imagine they would like to see something sooner rather than later,” an observer said last night.

Yet there were signs at the weekend that some investors were taking the view that, in the short term at least, the LSE share price could fall in the absence of a bid or an agreed deal. About 12 per cent of the shares are the subject of stock borrowing, a technique that is often used to go short in a share in the expectation of a fall.

LSE shares closed at £12.36 on Friday. Few shares have actually changed hands in recent weeks as the market has awaited the final act in the drawn-out battle for the London market.

The Treasury has already intervened to promise legislation that would protect the current regulatory regime in London, thereby making an American bid more acceptable.

The potential Nasdaq bid, the fourth for the LSE in almost two years, is part of a continuing consolidation of the world’s exchanges. Borsa Italiana, which manages the Milan exchange, will hold a board meeting next week to approve preliminary plans for a merger with Deutsche Börse, according to a report in an Italian financial newspaper.

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