Last Friday The Financial Times reported that the London Stock Exchange had opted out of bidding for the WSE.

Of the four short-listed potential investors – the others being NYSE Euronext, Nasdaq OMX and Deutsche Börse – the German exchange seems to be the favorite.

For one thing, Deutsche Börse has been pretty vocal about its interest. At the Krynica Economic Forum last month, a managing director of the company took time out to talk up the firm's credentials with our correspondent (find the interview here). He mentioned better synergy and the capability of derivatives trading (which the LSE doesn't offer), as reasons DB is the perfect fit for the WSE.

When contacted by reporters for a reaction to LSE's pullout, Deutsche Börse's spokesperson confirmed that it was still on track to bid, while all the others declined to comment. Earlier this year, Nasdaq OMX announced that it would be competing with the Warsaw Stock Exchange by offering Central European blue chips through a multilateral trading facility. That seems to count out its bid.

That just leaves the silent NYSE Euronext. It could submit a bid, but it hasn't been very active or vocal. It may want to shore up its positions in Western Europe and the United States before it makes a large takeover bid – and it is understood that the government won't sell the WSE for peanuts.

We should see how all of this plays out in the coming months, as the privatization process was supposed to be completed by the end of the year. If the bidders don't make an attractive offer, or if a snafu appears – as has occurred in several of the government's plans for privatization of state-owned companies this year – all bets are off.