AxiCorp, an Australian broker of Forex (FX) and contracts for difference (CFDs), announced this Monday that it will be acquiring One Financial Markets (OFM). The deal is still subject to regulatory approval but will see AxiCorp acquiring OFM, which is also a broker of FX and CFDs, through a predominantly cash-based Acquisition .
According to AxiCorp’s statement, the deal was to some degree connected to the recent regulatory changes implemented by the European Securities and Markets Authority. These went live at the start of this month and, amongst other things, saw a clampdown on leveraged trading.
AxiCorp also claimed that the deal is 12-months in the making. The broker noted in its statement that the two firms have been in talks surrounding the acquisition for the past year.
AxiCorp’s acquisition of OFM will see them taking over the entirety of the UK-headquartered broker’s business. This will include the firm’s existing staff, operations and all of its regulatory licenses.
Different owners, same branding
Rajesh Yohannan, CEO of AxiCorp
Despite its new ownership, OFM will continue to operate under its own brand name. This decision seems to have been driven by a desire not to rock the boat too much. OFM is already well-established in the Middle East, Europe, South America and South East Asia and changes to its branding, AxiCorp likely concluded, may harm its business operations in those regions.
AxiCorp’s efforts at expansion seem to have begun in earnest with the appointment of Rajesh Yohannan as CEO in 2016. Concurrently, the broker received “strategic investment” from RGT Capital, an Australian private equity firm, that looks to have enabled its expansionary efforts.
“We have laid a solid and strategic foundation for global growth in recent years,” said Yohannan, commenting on the deal, “and we’re now delivering against this plan. Expansion will be fuelled by a combination of product development and acquisitions across the industry.”
