no 22/08 NASDAQ OMX Commodities and Nord Pool Spot chosen to deliver Market and Clearing Services for the UK Wholesale Power Market

(Lysaker - Oslo, 27 November 2008) The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) announced today that NASDAQ OMX Commodities and Nord Pool Spot have been chosen by the Futures & Options Association in UK to establish a spot and cash-settled derivatives power market with a full range of clearing services.  

Facts

 - http://www.nordpool.com/static/nordpool/archive/upload/Communications/Publications/Productsheets/UKpowermarket.pdf" The UK power market » 

 
The Futures & Options Association (FOA) has chosen the consortium NASDAQ OMX Commodities and Nord Pool Spot AS to provide for the delivery of Market and Clearing services for the UK Wholesale Power Market. The parties plan to establish the exchange within Q2 2009. Nord Pool Spot has experience from operating power markets since 1993, while NASDAQ OMX supplies exchange technology to over 60 financial marketplaces in over 50 countries. 

Anthony Belchambers, Chief Executive of the FOA, said “It is customary for market infrastructure providers to go to the market with ideas for new contracts or market enhancement.  In this case, it is the market participants who have taken the initiative.  The process of review was significantly more protracted than originally anticipated due to the complex nature and high quality of all the responses to the RFP, not to mention some intervening changes in partnerships. However, the depth of experience and resources and the quality of the offering by NASDAQ OMX Commodities was sufficient to secure the unanimous support of the Market Participant Project Board.” 
  
Erik Sæther, CEO of Nord Pool Spot AS, said “Together with NASDAQ OMX we will offer a complete solution, including trading, clearing and notification services for the Prompt and Auction markets to be delivered immediately. We will also provide trading, clearing (including OTC), notification, settlement and delivery of all 1/2-hour physical contracts with a uniform interface."

The solution will comprise a cash-settled power derivatives market, allowing complete netting across contracts with the same delivery periods, with correlated contracts and positions in different commodities. Existing members at Nord Pool/NASDAQ OMX will not have to pay any dual fees for the UK market. The new market and clearing services will also allow for complete netting across contracts with the same delivery periods, with correlated contracts and positions in different commodities, giving maximum efficiency. 

The consortium will run a 24/7 Prompt market with immediate clearing and notification. A 24 hour helpdesk will be a single point of contact to ensure that members view the solution as a seamless service. NOMXC/NPS will also run an Auction market, providing all services from bid-entry to reporting. 
Geir Reigstad, Head of NASDAQ OMX Commodities, said, “NASDAQ OMX Commodities welcomes this opportunity to develop and enhance the UK power market, and we look forward to working with the FOA and the Power Trading Forum on this project. Together with Nord Pool Spot AS, we bring a wealth of experience to deliver the objectives of the FOA's RFP to improve access, participation and liquidity in the UK Power Market, allowing it to grow and become more efficient.” 

Local Presence in the UK 
The consortium will establish an office in London to serve the UK market. This office will be staffed with experts on UK power markets, and be a single contact point for participants for all matters, covering the Prompt market, Auction market, clearing and notification solutions, and the futures market.

About the UK consortium 
NASDAQ OMX Commodities is Europe's third largest marketplace and clearing house for derivatives, with customers in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, UK and Germany. Nord Pool Clearing, now wholly-owned by NASDAQ OMX, is the world's largest clearinghouse for financial power contracts in terms of both volume and open position with customers in 22 countries. Nord Pool Spot AS has been operating spot market for power since 1991. Nord Pool Spot AS operates today the Nordic day-ahead market Elspot, the intra-day Elbas market, and a Danish market for gas. Nord Pool is the leading power exchange in Europe, with 15 years of experience offering derivate trading which now includes contracts for  Nordic, German and Dutch power as well as carbon contracts. 
NASDAQ OMX Commodities Business Development is the leading expert in establishing new power markets and gives the Consortium a solid platform to provide state of the art products and services to the UK power market. The offering complies fully with the UK FSA regulations and existing exchange and clearing member relationships will be utilised. NASDAQ OMX Commodities is an entity in the NASDAQ OMX GROUP.

ABOUT NASDAQ OMX COMMODITIES  
NASDAQ OMX Commodities and Nord Pool ASA provide access to the world's largest power derivatives markets and one of Europe's largest carbon markets. NASDAQ OMX Commodities is responsible for the international derivative and carbon products offering, and also operates the clearing business and offers consulting services to commodities markets globally. Nord Pool ASA is responsible for the exchange operations and trading activities, including ownership of the Nordic derivative products. NASDAQ OMX Commodities and Nord Pool ASA have more than 400 members from 22 countries across a wide range of energy producers and consumers, as well as financial institutions. 

For more information, please visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com/commodities www.nasdaqomx.com/commodities  and http://www.nordpool.com www.nordpool.com . 
ABOUT NASDAQ OMX GROUP 
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company.  With over 3,900 listed companies, it delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents.  NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market; the OMX Nordic Exchange, including First North; and the 144A PORTAL Market.  The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and ETFs.  NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries.  OMX Nordic Exchange is not a legal entity but describes the common offering from Nasdaq OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius.  For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com www.nasdaqomx.com .

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements  

The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about NASDAQ OMX's internal reorganization, products and offerings. We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond NASDAQ OMX's control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors detailed in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that the FSA will give the NASDAQ OMX applicant the authorization and permissions which it seeks. 
For further information please contact: 
Anthony Belchambers, chief executive, FOA, phone +44 (0)20 7929 0090 
Erik Sæther, CEO Nord Pool Spot, phone +47 47 48 91 38 
Geir Reigstad, head of NASDAQ OMX Commodities, phone + 47 9084 6735 
Lars Galtung, corporate communication, phone + 47 9821 4812

Media contacts: 
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

Bethany Sherman,
phone +1 212 401 8714
bethany.sherman@nasdaqomx.com bethany.sherman@nasdaqomx.com  

Lars Galtung,
phone + 47 9821 4812
lars.galtung@nordpool.com lars.galtung@nordpool.com