Eurex, a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse AG, is becoming a minority shareholder of the Taiwanese futures exchange TAIFEX. Subject to regulatory approval by the Taiwanese authorities, Eurex will acquire a 5-percent stake in TAIFEX from Yuanta Financial Holdings. The agreed purchase price is 47 million US dollars. The Yuanta Group will remain a shareholder in TAIFEX after the planned sale of the 5-percent stake.

“With this acquisition we are strengthening our strategic partnership with TAIFEX. Jointly, we want to contribute to the internationalization of the Taiwanese financial market,” said Andreas Preuss, Eurex CEO and deputy CEO of Deutsche Börse AG. “For us, this step is a further milestone in implementing Deutsche Börse Group’s Asia strategy. TAIFEX is excellently positioned, especially in Greater China, for the future internationalization of the derivatives markets.”

From May 2014, Eurex and TAIFEX are planning to list daily futures based on futures and options on the Taiwanese blue-chip index TAIEX for the first time after Taiwanese trading hours at Eurex Exchange. This Eurex/TAIFEX Link has already been approved by the Taiwanese regulator, the Financial Supervisory Commission. Both partners are also holding very constructive talks on further joint projects.

Separately, Chi-X Global Holdings announced that J.P. Morgan has acquired an equity stake in the firm.

J.P. Morgan becomes the eighth member of Chi-X Global’s ownership consortium. It joins owners BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, KCG Holdings Inc., Morgan Stanley, Quantlab Group L.P. and UBS AG. Instinet Incorporated, the Nomura Group member that founded Chi-X Global in 2008, remains the majority equity holder through an affiliate.

“On behalf of the Chi-X Global Board, I would like to welcome J.P. Morgan to the investor group,” said Fumiki Kondo, chairman of Chi-X Global. “The addition of J.P. Morgan is an important milestone for Chi-X and is representative of the support that we continue to receive from trading communities around the globe.”

Tal Cohen, CEO of Chi-X Global, added: “J.P. Morgan joins our ownership consortium at an exciting time, as each of our markets continues to enhance its performance. We remain committed to working with the industry to foster healthy and vibrant equity markets that benefit all investors.”
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Owned by a consortium of major financial institutions, Chi-X Global operates market centers in Australia, Canada and Japan. Chi-Tech, the technology services unit of Chi-X Global, provides technology to its business lines and the Chi-FX platform to its alliance partner, BM&FBOVESPA.