Global exchanges and FX operator BATS Global Markets has announced that it expects its shares to be priced at between $17 and $19 per share. The estimate values the company at up to $2 billion, which is about triple its valuation after the BATS Global Markets first attempted to go public in 2012.
The firm’s first attempt was spoiled by a software glitch that caused the value of the shares of the company to drop to a fraction of a cent moments after the first trade was executed.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), some of the major shareholders of BATS intend to gradually offload parts of their stakes in the exchange operator. To date these include major financial institutions Bank of America Merill Lynch and Citigroup, broker-dealer Instinet and KCG Holdings.
After a very subdued IPO market during the first quarter in the U.S., the BATS Global Markets offering seems to be the first big one to make the rounds in the second quarter of 2016. The firm is placing 11.2 million shares, and will be listed on its own U.S. exchange - BATS. The company is aiming to raise up to $212.8 million.
The share offering is comprised of existing shareholders. As of the end of February BATS was sporting a 21.4 per cent market share in the U.S. equities markets, which is second only to the NYSE. The Kansas City headquartered company operates four stock exchanges - BZX, BYX, EDGX and EDGA. The company also operates BATS Europe, which has the biggest market share with 23.7 per cent of the equities trades.
The total average daily volumes of the company's foreign exchange Electronic Communications Network (ECN) ), Hotspot averaged $29.5 billion per day.
The ticker of the newly listed company is BATS, which stands for “better alternative trading system”.
