Virtu Financial, Inc., a high-speed trading firm, has published an update on its Acquisition of independent broker Investment Technology Group, Inc. (ITG), which is worth around $1 billion, this Friday.
As Finance Magnates reported, Virtu officially announced its intention to acquire ITG back in November of 2018. As part of the agreement, the trading firm will buy all outstanding shares of ITG’s Common Stock for $30.30 per share in cash.
Virtu originally expected the transaction would close in the first half of 2019, however, today the company has narrowed that deadline to the first quarter of this year, after regulatory approvals have been received.
Furthermore, the high-speed trading firm also disclosed that it has already received some of the necessary approvals needed to consummate the transaction, however, the company didn’t provide details as to which regulators it had received the go-ahead from.
Douglas Cifu
Source: Financial News
Commenting on the deal, Douglas Cifu the Chief Executive Officer of Virtu Financial said: “The dedicated professionals at ITG and Virtu are working hard to prepare for this significant transaction. We continue to receive positive feedback from clients and prospects regarding the combination, and we look forward to joining the key strengths of the two firms to deliver a broad suite of global, cross asset and impactful technology and trading services to clients."
ITG stockholders approve Virtu acquisition
On January 24, 2019, all proposals of the deal were submitted to a vote of ITG’s stockholders, a step that was necessary in order to complete the acquisition. As the broker announced previously, the transaction was approved at the meeting.
Rumors of the acquisition first popped up in October when Virtu and ITG were in talks, but no concrete deal had been made. This saw ITG shares spike to their highest levels since April of 2015.
Once ITG has been successfully acquired, Virtu intends to maintain the separate legal identities of the broker’s client-facing broker-dealers, the statement said.
