The board of the London Stock Exchange plc has formally rejected today’s offer from Macquarie Bank Ltd., Australia’s largest investment bank.

Macquarie made an official £1.48 billion ($3.03 billion), or 580 pence ($11.86) per share, offer for the LSE, matching a previous proposal the exchange had rejected as too low.

Macquarie has formed a new company, MLX, for the purpose of acquiring the LSE. MLX is owned by two Macquarie Group managed/advised funds. MLX made a cash offer for 100% of the LSE, which values the company at approximately £1.5 billion ($3.07 billion).

MLX said it believes that the offer represents attractive value for LSE shareholders. It also says that the deal will give the LSE stable, focused ownership.

The LSE board unanimously rejected “this derisory offer which fundamentally undervalues the company given its unique franchise, attractive long-term growth prospects and pivotal position in global capital markets.”

The board said it is convinced that the Macquarie offer is at a discount to the LSE’s standalone value before any takeover premium.

“The offer disregards the quality and strength of the LSE’s business, its long-term growth prospects and the re-rating of the global exchange sector,” it added. “The LSE believes that the Macquarie offer has been set at a level that will help Macquarie maintain its own and its funds’ performance and reflects the absence of synergies and its attempt to assuage customer concerns.”

The LSE saod that its strong interim results underline the success of its strategy and confirm the board’s confidence in the exchange’s growth prospects as an independent group.

“Given the underlying strength of the business, the quality and value of the LSE brand and technology, and the actions outlined above, the board believes that the LSE will deliver significant and increasing value for shareholders. Macquarie’s offer entirely fails to recognize the value of the LSE and the nature of its business,” it concluded.

The directors of the LSE are being advised by Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. The LSE said the advisors “consider the offer wholly inadequate and advise LSE’s shareholders to reject the offer.”

Last week, the board of the London Stock Exchange announced that it had received a proposal from Macquarie about making a cash offer to acquire London Stock Exchange for 580p per share. At the time, it rejected the deal, saying, “The board of London Stock Exchange rejects outright this derisory proposal which fundamentally undervalues the company and lacks any strategic or commercial credibility.”