Nasdaq Invests in London Stock Exchange

The American based, technology heavy NASDAQ stock exchange has invested heavily in the London Stock Exchange by purchasing 15% of it. The LSE has been eyed up by a few substantial investors in recent years. Nasdaq has paid $781.5 million for it's share of LSE.
Is fear the driver behind Nasdaq's buy?
"Nasdaq’s strategic logic, therefore, could be defensive. It is most likely, however, that Nasdaq is on the offensive. It is probable that it sees the acquisition as strategic because it provides an excellent platform from which it can bid for the LSE. Of itself, possession of a 15 per cent shareholding vests strength into Nasdaq’s position."
and
"If one assumes that the move is offensive, the next question to ask is why Nasdaq has changed its tune. It was only two weeks ago that the firm withdrew an indicative offer of 950p a share. How come it has staged such a reversal, so soon? The withdrawal of March 30 was expensive — or at least potentially expensive — in two key ways. It was expensive because under Takeover Code rules it means Nasdaq was unable to lodge another bid for the LSE for at least six months — unless a rival bidder came on the scene or LSE agreed to a deal, or one of a small handful of other improbable scenarios came to pass." Robert Cole
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