Prime-of-prime broker iS Prime and retail FX/CFDs broker ThinkMarkets have reached a last-minute settlement on the longstanding exclusivity lawsuit between them. The deal was struck on Tuesday, which was the day the case was expected to go to trial at a UK court, Law360 first reported.

iS Prime and ThinkMarkets Battle in Court

In 2017, iS Prime’s risk management unit, iS Risk (formerly known as IS Prime Risk Services) acquired ThinkMarkets’ Think Liquidity, a risk management service. However, in a court case that ensued, IS Prime filed a lawsuit against ThinkMarkets, demanding $15 million in damages from ThinkMarkets. The prime-of-prime brokerage accused the retail forex broker of breaking their exclusive ‘liquidity agreement’ reached during the acquisition by using the services of other brokers between January 19, 2017, and January 19, 2020, for its trade execution.

However, ThinkMarkets dismissed the claim, saying that it had received an email from iS Prime on December 8, 2017, informing it that the execution services provider was transferring its swap business to its Hong Kong affiliate, effective December 18. ThinkMarkets claims that as a result of this, IS Prime ceased to trade index swaps, and thereby discharged it of its obligation under the agreement with regards to that particular product class. However, iS Prime disagreed with this position, arguing that existing terms of trade between both firms continued in full force.

In May last year, a British court during a second hearing on the case rejected iS Prime’s attempts to strike out part of ThinkMarkets’ counterclaim. Earlier in March, a court ruled that the former’s legal action against the latter “insofar as it relates to the trading of index swaps after 18 December 2017, has no real prospect of succeeding.”

iS Prime Demands Retraction

In a statement shared with Finance Magnates on Wednesday, iS Prime expressed satisfaction about the terms of the settlement it reached with ThinkMarkets, noting that the compromise vindicates its position. However, only one of the terms of the deal was disclosed to Finance Magnates.

“[The terms of the settlement] include a formal written retraction of the incorrect and ill-founded allegations made against it [iS Prime] by ThinkMarkets and their Head of Compliance, Mohammed Adil Siddiqui, which can be provided to our clients,” explained iS Prime.

“The outcome is a clear vindication of iS Prime’s position. iS Prime will move on, continuing to provide the outstanding service to our clients which we have always provided,” the prime-of-prime broker added.

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