As Finance Magnates continues to report recently, the Israeli retail Online Trading market is undergoing considerable change with many firms looking for a way out due to the new harsh regulations in the country. Today we can reveal that Smart Capital is also about to cease operations as an independent entity thanks to a takeover by Colmex. Both sides have confirmed the news to Finance Magnates but the financial details have not yet been disclosed.
Smart Capital CEO Itzik Noy commented: “A deal to merge Smart Capital and Colmex has been signed today. As part of the Merger , the clients’ activity and some of Smart Capital’s employees will be integrated into Colmex. The decision on this move emanates first of all out of business considerations and second of all out of the perception that we have products that complete Colmex and vice versa.
Itzik Noy
Colmex is a large and high quality company long established in the Israeli and international markets. This merger will create a much wider service and a more diverse range of trading platforms for Israeli clients – these number in the hundreds.
In the coming days the operations will be merged. There is not enough space in Israel for too many firms that offer limited services, and not a complete variety of services. It is right to merge companies that have diverse trading activity, as far as recruiting clients is concerned, as this brings good high quality clients that want to trade in the international market. We want to sustain the Israeli market. This is the right move and I call on other firms to do the same. I am leading the merger until the last clients is settled so that no clients will be harmed in the process.”
Colmex sent this comment: “Smart Capital and Colmex have indeed signed a cooperation agreement, according to which Smart Capital will direct its Israeli clients to Colmex for trading activity.”
Complex deal
Behind the scenes of this complex transaction, Finance Magnates can reveal that attorneys Tal Itzhak Ron and Liat Naim of the law firm Tal Ron, Drihem and Co. represented Smart Capital and attorney David Bitton of David Bitton Law represented Colmex.
Both law firms, that have been active in the process of obtaining licenses for Israeli and international players, engaged lawyers around the clock for almost one month to secure the merger by the deadline of May 31st.
Both Bitton and Ron stated to Finance Magnates that they believe that the merger of their two strong clients would be beneficial to both parties and that it will continue to demonstrate the consolidation of FX players catering to the Israeli market.
