Borse Dubai plans to close the deal to take over Nordic exchange operator OMX by February. "We expect to close the deal by mid- to end-of February," Dubai bourse CEO Per Larsson told Zawya Dow Jones on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai. "We still need final approvals from the Baltic regulators and those in the U.S."

Sweden's financial markets regulator approved Borse Dubai as owner of OMX on Nov. 12, bringing the Gulf firm one step closer to closing its $4.9 billion joint takeover bid with Nasdaq for OMX. Per the terms of the proposed deal, Borse Dubai will buy OMX and then transfer ownership to Nasdaq for a 19.9% stake in the new company. Borse Dubai also bought Nasdaq's 28% stake in London Stock Exchange Group.

As part of its plan to become the main exchange in the Middle East, Dubai will encourage dual-listing of shares from Nasdaq and OMX on the Dubai International Financial Exchange, Larsson said. "Nasdaq and OMX will help the DIFX roll out a capital market infrastructure. They will provide us with technology and experience," he said.

Nasdaq will become a strategic shareholder of DIFX, which is owned by Borse Dubai and will later be rebranded as Nasdaq-DIFX. "The Nasdaq-DIFX branding is important since it will help us achieve the goal of becoming the region's financial exchange," Larsson said. "It will create linkages among the region's exchanges and support trading technologies."

In an emailed statement Jameel Akhrass, chief executive of Lehman Brothers, Middle East, told Zawya Dow Jones, "The Nasdaq-Borse Dubai transaction has the potential to transform regional capital markets in terms of capital flows and technology as well as develop and strengthen links with global financial markets."

HSBC Holdings, who Larsson said is managing funds for the transaction, said in September it will become the first international lender to offer brokerage services in the United Arab Emirates.