Forum Trading Solutions has announced that it will acquire Plus TS, the technology division of the beleagured Plus Markets Group.
The acquisition comes on the heels of persistent rumours that Forum co-founder, Hirander Misra, was in talks to buy the product. Plus TS develops the company’s ‘exchange-in-a-box’ product, containing a matching and surveillance system, supporting most asset classes. The technology powers the Plus Stock Exchange, which is under offer from ICAP for purchase after Plus Markets declared that it would be wound down last month.
As part of the deal, all staff will be absorbed into the new company. Plus TS will rebrand to Forum Trading Solutions.
“We are delighted to provide managed trading services to Plus-SX, enabling its smooth operation going forward, in addition to offering our unique ‘exchange-in-a-box’ services to other trading venues,” says Misra, who is also the non-executive chairman of Forum and a former co-founder of European multi-lateral trading facility (MTF) Chi-X. “Quite simply the age of the 0.1bps cash equities MTF model is old news given forthcoming regulatory change. Forum responds to the growing demand from market participants to segregate or create their own marketplaces with a cost effective fixed license fee model irrespective of the asset class traded. All that too enabled by exchange technology that we believe is the fastest and most resilient in the world.”
The London Metal Exchange is up for sale, HKEX is the most promising bidder.
Apart from Chi-X, Equities MTF’s have not taking charge of the market. LMAX a London based spot FX & CFD MTF aims to bridge the gap between OTC and exchange traded products. The Dodd Frank rulings have introduced SEF in US.
