Borse Dubai sold its stake in London Stock Exchange Group, possibly worth about $2.2 bln

Borse Dubai, the holding company for the Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai, announced it had sold its entire 17.4 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange Group, thus terminating its nearly eight-year ownership in the stock market operator.

Borse Dubai was the London exchange’s largest shareholder, ahead of the Qatar Investment Authority, which owns a 10.3 percent stake. The 17.4 percent stake could be worth as much as 1.5 billion pounds, or about $2.2 billion.

The Qatari sovereign wealth fund reduced its stake in the London exchange in July.

It did not give a reason for the sale, but it comes after the exchange’s stock price has increased 44 percent over half a year.

Shares of the London Stock Exchange Group fell 10.7 percent to £22.67 in early trading in London on Thursday.

Borse Dubai, owned by Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund, first acquired a 28 percent stake in the London exchange in 2007 as part of a broader deal with Nasdaq. It still holds a 17 percent stake in Nasdaq.

The block sale was managed by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays and Nomura.