The consolidation of stock exchanges around the world has been a slow, intense chess game. Now, in a flurry of moves, a number of the pieces have been rearranged.

A three-way deal will give Nasdaq its first European exchange. Borse Dubai has agreed to acquire 20 percent of Nasdaq and will buy a 28 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange from Nasdaq. In return, Borse Dubai will drop its bid for OMX, the operator of the Stockholm stock exchange and other Nordic exchanges. Nasdaq will acquire the shares that Borse Dubai had offered to buy and take control of OMX.

Nasdaq will also  take a 33 percent stake in the Dubai International Financial Exchange, which will be renamed Nasdaq DIFX. The deal allows Dubai to use this name in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.

"The combination will create the largest global network of exchanges and exchange customers linked by technology," Robert Greifeld, the chief executive of Nasdaq, said in a statement.

Soon after that deal was announced, the Qatar Investment Authority said it had bought 20 percent of the London Stock Exchange, Europe's largest stock exchange.

In a statement, the authority said it did not intend to make a bid for the London exchange, "but reserves its position in the event that a third party announces a firm intention to make an offer."

Still, the moves ignited fierce speculation about the possibility of a bidding war for the London exchange. Its shares jumped more than 10 percent.

The London Stock Exchange has been a target of a number of bids in the last three years and has fought off offers from OMX, Deutsche Borse, Macquarie Bank, and, most recently, Nasdaq.