NASDAQ OMX acquires NOS Clearing ASA

Oslo, Norway  April 25, 2012 - NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) today announced the acquisition of the Norwegian based NOS Clearing ASA, a clearing house primarily for tanker and dry cargo freight, seafood derivatives and electricity certificates.

NOS Clearing ASA has been the leading clearing house for the freight market since 2001 and has invested significant resources in building a cleared ship freight derivatives market. NOS Clearing ASA was the first clearing house to establish an efficient cleared seafood market in 2005. NOS Clearing ASA has 30 employees.

The transaction will allow NASDAQ OMX to move forward with the global strategy of NASDAQ OMX Commodities.

Geir Reigstad, Senior Vice President, NASDAQ OMX Commodities, said: “We are very pleased to complete this acquisition and to welcome a highly competent organization into the NASDAQ OMX family. The acquisition fits perfect into our strategy to grow globally within the energy space, since freight is a key part of the energy supply chain.  In addition to that, we are entering a new product range, clearing of seafood derivatives, with a large global potential.”

The acquisition also allows NASDAQ OMX to further leverage on the trading platform. In March 2012, NASDAQ OMX Nordic launched commodities on the Genium INET technology based platform, thereby creating an all-asset, cross-market technology platform.

Geir Olsen, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Imarex Group, said: “Over the past years we have evaluated several options for how to develop NOS to the benefit of the shareholders as well as the employees and clients. Under the ownership of NASDAQ OMX, NOS Clearing will become part of an organization with growth ambitions and sufficient resources to support the company going forward”.

NASDAQ OMX Commodities Europe (NASDAQ OMX Oslo ASA) holds a Norwegian exchange license and operates the Nordic power derivatives market and one of Europe’s largest carbon exchanges on one trading platform. NASDAQ OMX Commodities Europe is fully owned by the NASDAQ OMX Group.

NOS Clearing ASA is an independent clearing organization. The parent company, Imarex ASA, is a Norwegian public limited liability company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE:IMAREX).

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and the approval by the shareholders of Imarex ASA, the owner of NOS Clearing ASA, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. A General Assembly in Imarex ASA will be held at May 22, 2012.

About NASDAQ OMX

The inventor and transformer of the electronic exchange, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., fuels economies with revolutionary technologies for the entire lifecycle of a trade - from risk management to trade to surveillance to clearing. In the US and Europe, we own and operate 24 markets, 3 clearinghouses and 6 central securities depositories supporting equities, options, fixed income, derivatives, commodities, futures and structured products. Able to traffic more than 1 million messages per second at sub-80 microsecond speeds with 99.999% uptime, our technology drives more than 70 exchanges in 50 developed and emerging countries into the future, powering 1 in 10 of the world’s securities transactions. Our award-winning data products and worldwide indexes are the benchmarks in the financial industry. Home to 3,400 listed companies worth $5.1 trillion in market cap whose innovations shape our world, we give the ideas of tomorrow access to capital today. Welcome to where the world takes a big leap forward, daily.  Welcome to the NASDAQ OMX Century.  To learn more, visit www.nasdaqomx.com. Follow us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/NASDAQ) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx). (Symbol: NDAQ and member of S&P 500).

 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 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.

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NASDAQ OMX media contact:

Sara Aadnesen

+47 90600759

sara.aadnesen@nasdaqomx.com

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