Virtu Financial Offloads BondPoint to Intercontinental Exchange

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) has continued making moves that will shake up the institutional space. After acquiring KCG Holdings (NYSE:KCG) in a landmark deal earlier this year, the group has undergone an agreement to offload fixed income trading venue BondPoint to Intercontinental Exchange.

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BondPoint is a provider of electronic fixed income trading solutions, delivering access to centralized Liquidity and automated, cost-efficient trade Execution services. The deal will net Virtu Financial upwards of $400 million for the fixed income trading venue. By extension, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) will strengthen its own operations with the group, which caters to both buy-side and sell-side traders.

Douglas A. Cifu, Chief Executive Officer of Virtu, commented on the sale: "After a thorough analysis, we concluded that BondPoint is a unique asset better suited to operate outside of Virtu’s core operations. Following a competitive process, ICE distinguished itself as a strong and stable global organization that could provide the best home for BondPoint, its customers, and its employees.”

The deal is important for both parties and a game changer in the fixed income space for ICE. BondPoint represents an electronic marketplace linking more than 500 financial services firms. The move should help ICE bolster its own fixed income operations in its latest M&A activity of 2017.

Despite the announcement, the sale of BondPoint is expected to be completed in by Q1 2018, pending the requisite regulatory reviews and approvals. For its part, Virtu Financial will provide additional details during its Q3 earnings call early next month on November 7, 2017. The $400 million that Virtu Financial will net is likely to be used to repay a portion of its outstanding term loan.

“The management team of BondPoint has done an extraordinary job over the years creating a leading franchise in credit trading,” added Mr. Cifu.