$190 million deal still needs approval, but could provide synergies
Nasdaq has acted to acquire Swedish fintech provider Cinnober for $190 million. The move bolsters Nasdaq’s offering of analytics, risk management and market infrastructure products.
Cinnober is a leading provider of trading systems for exchange-traded markets; according to the firm’s financial reports, Cinnober recorded about $39 million in net revenues in fiscal 2017. The company also recently branched out into real-time clearing; a subsidiary called Minium Financial Technology signed a deal with Marex Spectron in June to deliver a cloud-based real-time risk management platform to support Marex’s exchangetraded derivatives and FX business.
The deal also gives Nasdaq additional tools for the cryptocurrency markets. One of Cinnober’s most recent efforts includes a collaboration with cryptocurrency security firm BitGo announced in July, which expanded Cinnober’s trading and post-trade platform to provide an “institutional-grade digital asset exchange solution.”
“Not only have the global capital markets continued to evolve rapidly, new marketplaces in various industries are demanding market technology infrastructure that enables rapid growth and scale as well as access to tools to promote market integrity,” said Adena Friedman, president and CEO of Nasdaq, in a statement. “This acquisition will enhance our ability to serve market infrastructure operators worldwide, and will accelerate our ability to expand into new growth segments.”
The Cinnober board of directors has unanimously recommended shareholders accept the deal, with the acceptance period of the public tender offer expected to close during the fourth quarter subject to review by Swedish competition authorities.
