Seven Slovenian companies have teamed up to acquire Ljubljanska borza, the operator of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE). The companies have already issued a non-binding bid for the shares of the bourse operator, Slovenia's central clearing house KDD said in a press release, Slovene Press Agency reports.

The deal on a consortium that is seeking to buy Ljubljanska Borza was signed by KDD, the Istrabenz holding, the Sava holding, investment firms Poteza nalozbe, KD Holding and Vipa as well as brokerage Publikum.

The companies are aiming to buy just over 64% of the LJSE, held by owners of a majority stake in Ljubljanska borza, who have recently offered it for sale. The deadline for submitting non-binding bids runs out on Friday.

KDD said the details of the non-binding offer are secret since they may still be the subject of negotiations.

Meanwhile, according to sources, the offer is likely to stand at EUR 400 per share, valuing the bourse operator at around EUR 13m and the eyed 64% share at EUR 8.6m.

Ljubljanska borza had been approached by several European exchanges in 2007. The Vienna, Athens, Warsaw and OMX stock exchanges have already announced they would be bidding as part of the sale. The only concrete offer so far has come from OMX, which said it would be offering EUR 125.19 per share.

Meanwhile, according to unofficial information, the Wiener Boerse would offer as much as EUR 700 per share.